Air Pollution Ekaterina Shaleva Stoyan Kolev 10/8

What is Air Pollution?

• The presence of chemicals in the atmosphere, which are not a normal part of it [1]

• In other words, it is contaminated air [1]

• The main sources of air pollution are ground-level ozone, particulate matter (PM), nitrogen and sulphur oxides [5]

http://www.freewebs.com/airawareness/Factory1.jpg

What is ground-level ozone?

• Ozone(O3) is a gas, which forms a layer that protects the Earth from ultraviolet rays [5]

• When ground level is created, it becomes a major air pollutant [2]

• Sources - not emitted directly into the air; [2]

• Health Effects- coughing, irritation of the airways, discomfort when breathing, premature aging of the lungs, increased risk of respiratory infections [2]

• Environmental Effects- on plants and ecosystems- damaging leaves, reducing forest growth and crop yields, making plants more susceptible to certain diseases [5]

• Economic Effects- tourism suffers, increased cost for health care services [3]

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/ozone-o3/index.htm#3

What is particulate matter?

• The sum of all liquid and solid particles in the air [5]

• PM10- big coarse particles (up to 10 micrometers in size), cause less severe health problems [4]

• PM2.5-small fine particles (up to 2.5 micrometers in size), worse health effects [4]

• Sources - any activity which involves burning of materials-forest fires, crushing and grinding rocks, processing metals [5]

• Health Effects- coughing, wheezing, aggravated asthma, lung damage [4]

• Environmental Effects- decreases visibility, harms crops and plants [5]

http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/aaqs/pm/hair-slide3-1-450px.gif

What are Nitrogen Oxides?

• Group of gases composed of nitrogen and oxygen [6]

• Most common are nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas [6]

• Sources - motor vehicle exhaust, burning of coal, cigarette smoking, etc. [6]

• Health Effects- headache, fatigue, dizziness, difficult breathing, throat spasms, collapse, death [6]

• Environmental Effects- NO2 helps form acid rain, contributes to global warming, hampers the growth of plants, with VOC forms ground- level ozone [7]

What are sulphur oxides?

• Most common is sulphur dioxide, which together with NO2 is one of the main chemicals that cause acid rain [8]

• Sources- mostly from power station and oil refineries, but also from volcanoes, forest fires [8]

• Health Effects- respiratory problems, aggravation of existing cardiovascular diseases [9]

• Environmental Effects damage crops, forests, acidify soils and water bodies [8]

http://www.treehugger.com/erupting-volcano.jpg

Bulgarias Air Quality

• Bulgaria has the most polluted air in the European Union [10]

• Main pollutants- industrial development, deforestation, large number of old vehicles, coal-fired heating in smaller towns [10][11]

• Sofia and Plovdiv experience the worst air pollution as well as the town of Pernik, which has pollution twice the permitted level (high number of metallurgy plants) [10][12]

• Actions- member of various international environmental agreements- Air Pollution- Sulfur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Ozone Layer Protection, etc; imposes EU standards on vehicles and industry [10][11]

http://dariknews.bg/uploads/news_images/200810/photo_verybig_299899.jpg

Ex ample #1: Norilsk, Russia

• Worlds largest smelting complex for heavy metals causes extreme air pollution in a 60 km radius [ 13]

• Metals in the air: nickel 500 tons per year , copper 500 tons per year , cobalt, lead, selenium [13]

• Other gasses: sulfur dioxide 2 million tons per year, phenols, hydrogen sulfide [13]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40189000/gif/_40189950_norilsk_nickel2_map416.gif http://www.spoutnitsi.net/IMG/jpg/ARKTIKA_Norilsk_2002_468.jpg

• Effects on people:

• -Life expectancy- 10 years smaller than anywhere in Russia;

• -respiratory diseases; ear, nose, throat diseases;

• -pregnancy and birth problems;

• -lung cancer due to sulfur dioxide;

• -responsible for about 20 percent of adult mortality and about 30 percent of adolescent mortality [13]

• Solution:

• Norilsk Nickel ahs spent $5mil Overhauling of dust & gas recovery & removal systems and plans to decrease sulfur dioxide emissions by 500% until 2015 [13]

Example #2: London, England

• Issue: Traffic, Factories produce PM10s [15]

• Air Pollution: PM10s (particles smaller than 10 microns) [14]

http://www.london-touristguide.com/images/london-europe-big.gif http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2010/2/23/1266942591039/Air-pollution--The-Houses-001.jpg

• Effects on people:

• -PM10s- small enough to be inhaled in the deepest parts of the lungs, main cause for lung diseases and heart attacks [14]

• -accounted for the death of 3000 Londoners annually [15]

• Solution:

• Boris Johnson, London mayor is in the process of issuing a ban on all taxis over 10 years old, which will probably reduce the crisis by half [15]

Works Cited

• Air Pollution- Criteria pollutants. Science.jrank.org . 2010. June 7, 2010 < http :// science . jrank . org / pages /154/ Air - Pollution . html > [1]

• Health risks of Ozone Pollution. Cleanairtrust.org . 1999. June 7 2010 < http ://www.cleanairtrust.org/ozone.htm l > [2]

• Econimic & Environmental Impacts of Ground Level Ozone. Valleyairnow.com. June 7, 2010 < http://www.valleyairnow.com/economicimpact.html > [3]

• What is particulate matter. Airinfonow.com . June 7, 2010 < http://www.airinfonow.com/html/ed_particulate.html > [4]

• Greenfacts.org. 2001-2009. June 7, 2010 < http:// www.greenfacts.org/en/index.htm > [ 5]

• Nitrogen Oxides. Toxtown . June 7, 2010 < http :// toxtown . nlm . nih . gov / text _ version / chemicals . php ? id =19 > [ 6]

• Tucker, Tyler.Nitrogen Oxide & The Environment. Belleville.k12.wi.us . 2005. June 7, 2010 < http ://www.belleville.k12.wi.us/bhs/health/environment/nitrogen_oxide.htm > [7]

• Sulphur dioxide. Environment Agency . 2010. June 7, 2010 < http :// www . environment - agency . gov . uk / business / topics / pollution /433. aspx > [8]

• Sulphur Dioxide. Ace.mmu.ac.uk . 2010. June 7, 2010 < http :// www . ace . mmu . ac . uk / eae / acid _ rain / older / Sulphur _ Dioxide . html > [9]

• Bulgarian air. Eubusiness.com . 2010. June 7, 2010 < http :// www . eubusiness . com / news - eu /1236337323.03/ > [10]

• Environment of Bulgaria. Mapofworld.com . 2009. June 7, 2010 < http://www.mapsofworld.com/bulgaria/environment.html > [11]

• Bulgaria Suffers. balkaninsight.com . 2007. June 7, 2010 < http :// www . balkaninsight . com / en / main / news /26238/ > [12]

• Norilsk, Russia. Worstpolluted.org . 2010. June 7, 2010 < http://www.worstpolluted.org/projects_reports/display/43 > [13]

• Particulate. Gbuapcd.org . June 7, 2010 < http://www.gbuapcd.org/pm10.htm > [ 14]

• Ft.com . 2010. June 6, 2010 < http ://www.ft.com/cms/s/e947eef0-6f71-11df-9f43-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fe947eef0-6f71-11df-9f43-00144feabdc0.html&_i_ referer = > [15]