Sheet 16

We started talking about environmental health; one of the most important aspects of environmental
health is air pollution.

- Objectives:
o Identify the classes of air pollutants and their sources.
o Review the various effects of exposure to air pollutants.
o Evaluate different solutions to air quality control.
- What is air pollution?
o Air pollution occurs when gases, dust particles, fumes (or smoke) or odors are
introduced into the air (atmosphere) in a way that makes it harmful to humans,
animals and plants. So air pollution is a problem for all living creatures not only
humans.
- The atmosphere:
o The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air made up of various gases called the
atmosphere.
o This is what makes earth unique. There is no other planet with an atmosphere like
earth.
- Why is the atmosphere important?
o The atmosphere helps protect the Earth and allow life to exist.
o Without this well controlled well balanced atmosphere earth would lose a lot of
its qualities.
o Without it we would be burned by the intense heat of the sun during the day or
frozen by the very low temperatures at night, so it regulates the temperature of
earth.
- Atmospheric Composition: it is composed of the following gases
o Nitrogen 78.08%
o Oxygen 20.95%
o Argon 0.93%
o Carbon dioxide 0.04% (this is the normal level, because we will see that CO2 is
one of the major pollutants of earth
- Why is the atmosphere important:
o Blocks UV radiation: this radiation comes from the atmosphere specifically the
ozone layer
o Moderates the climate and temperature on earth
o Redistributes water in the hydrologic cycle: the hydrologic cycle is the water
cycle in nature. The quantity of water is constant since the beginning of creation
because of the atmosphere.
- What is the size of this problem (air pollution)?
 o Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both cities and rural areas was estimated to
cause 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 by the WHO
o Out of these deaths, 88% has occurred in low and middle income countries. So
these countries are suffering the most of this problem. This problem is less in the
western world because of the use of renewable energy (wind and solar energy).
Here, we use fossil fuel and petroleum derivatives. So they have taken extreme
measures and they planned their cities in a way that people can use bikes for
transport and they have good public transportation systems. They have done lots
to decrease the effects of air pollution. Most of the deaths are the western pacific
and southeast asia.
o WHO estimates that 80% of these deaths were due to ischemic heart disease and
strokes caused by air pollution directly. While 14% of deaths were due to chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease or acute lower respiratory infections; and 6% of
deaths were due to lung cancer caused by the effects of air pollution.
o In addition to outdoor air pollution we have indoor air pollution (smoking inside
buildings). It is a serious risk for many people. The world population now is about
7 billion people. Out of these, there are 3 billion who suffer from indoor air
pollution. Almost half of the world population suffers from indoor pollution.
Especially those who cook and heat their homes with biomass fuels and coal these
stuff produce bad smoke (gasoline and kerosene as well)
- Definitions:
o Air pollutants: are airborne gases, particles (solid particles that are small and
could be held in the air; very light weight and float in the air and we breathe them;
also called particulates) and aerosols (very small droplets; like high speed hand
pieces. These droplets contain microorganisms. These droplets will be held in the
air and they cause us diseases especially if you dont have good ventilation).
These pollutants are added to the atmosphere by natural events or human
activities in concentrations (when they reach concentrations high enough to cause
disease they are called pollutants) that threaten the well-being of organisms or
disrupt the orderly functioning of the environment.
o Some pollutants are primary others are secondary:
Primary air pollutants pollute the air when emitted directly into the
atmosphere.
Secondary air Pollutants are created by chemical reactions between
primary air pollutants in the atmosphere. May involve sunlight or a
catalyst (the reactions are catalyzed usually by sunlight)
- The figure shows sources of pollutants:
o Volcanoes
o Forest fires
o Transportation (cars)
 o Factories
o Power plants (the stations that produce electricity) they use petroleum products to
produce electricity. When we start using the nuclear power plant we will have less
pollution.
o Painting: paints contain many chemicals that have gases that evaporate to the
atmosphere
- Categories of air pollutants
o Oxides of Carbon
o Volatile Hydrocarbons (VOCs)
o Oxides of Nitrogen
o Sulfur Compounds
o Photochemical Smog
o Suspended Particulates (aerosols)
- Oxide of carbon:
o The most common;
o carbon dioxide and monoxide;
o they result from burning petroleum products)
o hydrocarbons mean petroleum products and fossil fuels also mean petroleum
products. When we burn them to get heat or electricity they produce these gases
in addition to other gases.
o Carbon dioxide:
is the 4th most common atmospheric gas its concentration is 0.04%
produced from oxidation of hydrocarbons (burning the fuels)
asphixiant (causes choking because it restricts the airways so people are
not able to breathe normally
greenhouse gas: this is the first greenhouse gas. The greenhouse
phenomenon is what causes global warming. The earth retains a lot of
heat. The surface of earth gets hot during the day because of sunlight. It
should cool during the night. With greenhouse effect, earth cannot cool
down during the night. Because the atmosphere is not able to allow excess
heat to go out. Carbon dioxide contributes to this phenomenon of
greenhouse effect.
o Carbon monoxide (CO):
toxic in low concentrations: the danger of this gas is that it replaces
oxygen in blood and it is odorless and colorless. So you cannot feel its
presence, so it is toxic and very harmful.
produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels: in Jordan we have
many incidents due to use of heaters (gas heaters). The bathroom is closed
and the gases accumulate, and they pass away before being rescued.
- Volatile Hydrocarbons (VOCs): two categories
o Natural sources: Methane, terpenes: Mostly natural sources produced in marshes,
ruminants, rice paddies (rice should be flooded with water when it is planted, and
these gases are produced in these areas; so any area with plants that are flooded in
water), trees. They are not a real danger
o Manmade sources: Benzene, tetrachloroethylene (dry cleaning for clothes is done
with tetrachloroethylene; we do not use water for washing these clothes. If you
get a piece of clothes from the dry-clean let it outside before you hang it because
some of this material sticks to it), gasoline, formaldehyde, many others: products
of chemical industry used as solvents, paints, cleaning agents. Many of these have
a very strong smell.
o All may form secondary pollutants (one of their most important dangers) that
irritate eyes and damage respiratory system they also result in photochemical
smog.
- Oxides of nitrogen:
o you should know the name and the chemical formula. They have different
effects.
o Nitric Oxide (NO)
Most of it is natural
Produced by soil microbes
Forms NO2 in combination with oxygen in atmosphere
We dont have a problem with it
o Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
Natural and man made sources
Anesthetic: used for sedation especially in little children
Greenhouse gas: contributes to the greenhouse effect
o Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
Formed in auto engines (all engines of transportation vehicles that use
petroleum derivatives) and electrical generating plants.
Contributes to heart, lung, liver and kidney diseases at high concentration
Responsible for brownish haze that we call smog. Smog looks like fog, but
it looks brown. However, it is one of the air pollution phenomena.
Forms nitric acid in rainwater: which is called acidic rain. Nitrogen
dioxide is one of the gases that get dissolved in water droplets and it goes
down with the rain and it is a very acidic substance that ruins many things.
- Compounds of Sulfur:
o Sulfur Oxides (SO2, SO3, SO4):
Many sources like volcanoes, sea spray (the spray that comes out of waves
in the sea), combustion (of fossil fuels (coal): this is the real danger.
 irritate respiratory passages (SO2): in high concentrations people start
coughing and have problems in breathing
form acidic aerosols, acid rain (SO3, SO4): like nitrogen dioxide (so they
cause acidic rain). They react with water droplets to form sulphuric acid.
damage lakes (really harmed; many large lakes have many living
organisms that will be badly harmed. And the water inside the lake
becomes not suitable for life), forests, steel and masonry structures (stone
buildings; they change in color due to acidic rain). It does not harm large
water bodies like seas)
o Hydrogen Sulfide: it is not a big problem for us
Produced in anaerobic environment
Bad odor, toxic asphixiant, explosive but we are not really concerned
about it.
- Photochemical smog: it is the same smog we talked about earlier
o Forms in bright sunlight from nitrogen oxides, Hydrocarbons (VOCs), and
Oxygen in a reaction catalyzed by sunlight
o Interact chemically to produce powerful oxidants: like ozone (O3) and
peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN). PAN and ozone are the result of the reaction that
forms when photochemical smog forms. These cause irritation in the eyes.
o These secondary pollutants (PAN and ozone) are damaging to plant life and lead
to the formation of photochemical smog.
o PAN and ozone are primarily responsible for the eye irritation so characteristic of
this type of smog. Some of the ozone is good ozone (this is the ozone found in the
upper atmosphere; this is different from the ozone produces from the
photochemical smog)
o Fog happens when cold air comes in contact with a warm surface. London was
called the fog city. The fog in the 70s wasnt real fog. It was photochemical
smog; now, we can longer find this smog because they have taken measures to
decrease the pollution. They have undergrounds and metros which decreased the
pollution. So creation of a public transportation system that is comfortable and
fast will decrease pollution due to decrease in the use of private transport. Unlike
here, where the public transport system is bad, so you dont have to use your car
to go to work.
- Ozone: there are good and bad ozones.
o Tropospheric Ozone (bad ozone)
Man- made pollutant in the lower atmosphere
Secondary air pollutant
Component of photochemical smog
o Stratospheric Ozone
 Essential component that screens out UV light and radiation in the upper
atmosphere; the problem with the upper layer is the presence of a hole in
this ozone.
This hole leaks UV light and this causes cancers to many people.
Man- made pollutants (ex: CFCs*) can destroy it; make the hole in the
ozone layer
CFCs are gases used in refrigeration and in pressured spray cans (many
deodorants in the old days. Now deodorants are like paste or dough
because these gases cause ozone damage).
We started using them in the 80s; extreme measures have been taken to
decrease their amounts especially in western countries.
- Suspended particles:
o Particulate matter (PM): Thousands of different solid or liquid particles suspended
in air.
o It includes dust, fungal spores, ammonia (dissolved in small droplets of air),
sodium chloride, lead (destroys the nervous system. In the old days, it was used in
paints inside houses. Now the source is mainly the leaded gasoline; in Jordan we
used to have leaded gasoline now this has decreases. Lead is added to improve
combustion; however, it is bad environmentally
o Asbestos (used in insulation; very small fibers and these fibers are held in air and
can cause lung cancer. So it is not used anymore
o Black carbon (soot ;causes many diseases in Asia. The black fumes
produced during cooking is dangerous and these are small solid particles and get
deep into the lungs and cause cancers
o Soil particles, and sulfuric acid droplets.
o PM affects more people than any other pollutant around the world.
o The most health-damaging particles are those with a diameter of 10 microns or
less, ( PM10), which can penetrate and lodge deep inside the lungs. It is not easy
to get rid of them
o Greatest threat to health among air pollutants.
o Chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular
and respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer.
- Distribution of air pollutants (sources):
o 57% of all air pollution comes from transportation. It is worth it to get rid of the
many cars in the street. We have many cars because of the bad public transport
system.
o 21% is caused by fuel combustion other than transportation. Using petroleum
products other than vehicles. This is mainly in power plants to produce electricity.
o 12% industry
o 10% all other causes
- Now you can see that whenever you leave electricity on, you contribute to pollution. so if
we save electricity we can save the earth from pollution
- Photo of Los Angeles: very foggy, looks like sunset but it is during the day due to
pollution (smog). Now they have regulations for transportation to decrease this pollution
- Another picture of smog in Mexico city
- Another photo of smog in Beijing