1. Air Pollution – Components
Lead (Pb)
Sources
Formerly motor vehicles
Transition to unleaded gasoline virtually eliminated this source
Industrial plants
Smelters
Battery manufacturers
Human exposure mostly through inhalation of lead in air and dust
Food
Paint
Water

2. Air Pollution – Components
Lead (Pb)
Effects
Not readily excreted by body
Accumulates in tissues, especially kidneys, liver, nervous system, bones
Health
Anemia
Kidney disease
Reproductive disorders
Neurological problems (seizures, mental retardation, behavioral disorders)
Birth defects (CNS damage, retarded growth)
High blood pressure  heart disease
Environment
Deposition on leaves of plants is hazardous to grazing animals and humans (ingestion of meat)

3. Lead :
Pb emissions down 60%

4. Comparison of growth measures and emissions, 1990-2010

5. Comparison of National Levels of the Six Criteria Pollutants
to the Most Recent NAAQS,
**Ozone and PM2.5 shown relative to standards revised in 2008 and 2006, respectively**

6. Number of People Living in Counties with Air Quality Concentrations Above the Level of the NAAQS in 2010

7. Number of Days on Which Air Quality Index (AQI) Values Were Greater than 100 During 2002-2010

8. Air Pollution – Regulation & Legislation
History – “Pollution is the price of progress”
Air Quality Act (1967)
Authorized secretary of HEW to establish air quality regions
States given responsibility of adopting and enforcing pollution control standards
Controversial – Air pollution doesn’t stop at regional boundaries
Failure – Only a few regions were established, and no state had established a full pollution control program
Clean Air Act (1970)
Established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
Typically annual average concentration or daily maximum concentration
Established statutory deadlines for compliance
EPA (federal agency) responsible for recommending policy to Congress and monitoring/enforcing policy

9. Air Pollution – Regulation & Legislation
Clean Air Act (1970)
Local enforcement left to state governments
States allowed to have more stringent pollution standards than EPA
“Command and Control”
EPA established standards and technology used to achieve standards
Non-compliance  heavy fines
Clean Air Act Amendments (1990)
Market-based approach to achieving NAAQS
“Cap and Trade” system
Examples
Time frames for compliance based on designation of “nonattainment areas” (marginal to extreme)
Tailored to specific situations
Established possibility of emissions trading
Allows economic and technological flexibility

10. Water Pollution – Sources and Effects
Background
Oceans – 97% of world’s water
Ice & permanent snow – 2%
Ground water – 0.6%
Provides drinking water for 50% of people in US
Sources of water pollution tend to be less centralized and identifiable, compared to sources of air pollution
Relatively few pollutants characterized
Sources
Pollution
Point sources
Discharge directly into receiving waters
Easier to characterize and regulate than NPS’s
Non-point sources
Pollutants from diffuse sources
May vary regionally and seasonally
Ex – Chloride from salting streets in winter
May be difficult to distinguish natural from anthropogenic effects