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Published byMark Henry Modified over 8 years ago
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Outdoor Air Pollution Miller 17-1/17-2
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Air Pollution One or more chemicals in concentrations high enough in the atmosphere to cause harm to life forms Air pollution is not new to the human race
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Classes of Air Pollutants May be natural or anthropogenic Carbon Oxides – CO and CO 2 Sulfur Oxides – SO 2 and SO 3 Nitrogen Oxides - NO x Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – Methane CH 4 – Propane – Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
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Classes continued Photochemical oxidants - Ozone O 3 Radioactive substances – Radon-222 Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) which cause cancer, birth defects and nervous system problems – Chloroform – formaldehyde – Ethylene dibromide
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Mobile and Stationary sources Stationary – burning of fossil fuels in power plants and factories Mobile – motor vehicles
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Primary Pollutants Emitted directly into the troposphere in a potentially harmful form Example – Particulate matter
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Secondary Pollutants When primary pollutants react with each other and often sunlight to form new compounds Example – photochemical smog
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Ozone Is Ozone good or bad?
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The Ozone Layer Protects living things from Ultraviolet Radiation The Ozone layer was disappearing in the 1990’s This was mainly due to CFCs entering the upper atmosphere
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Ground level ozone Ozone is very corrosive This is not good if it is corroding your lungs
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The Greenhouse Effect Is the greenhouse effect good or bad?
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Greenhouse good Goldilocks was right? The Earth is the only place that we know of where water exists in all three phases Solid – Liquid – Gas This is essential for life to exist
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Greenhouse bad Gases and water vapor in the atmosphere cause the greenhouse effect We increase levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas
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Our atmosphere is warming at an ever increasing rate due to human actions
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What is the most pressing ecological problem facing your generation? Human population growth Industrialization
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