Professional Documents
Culture Documents
General
Definition
Air pollution may be defined as the presence
in the air (outdoor atmosphere) of one or
more contaminants or combinations
thereof in such quantities and of such
durations as may be or tend to be
injurious to human, animal or plant life,
or property, or which unreasonably
interferes with the comfortable
enjoyment of life or property or
conduct of business.
Air Pollutant
It is a substance or effect dwelling temporarily or
permanently in the air , which adversely alters the
environment by interfering with the health, the
comfort, or the food chain, or by interfering with the
property values of people.
A pollutant can be solid (large or sub-molecular), liquid
or gas .
It may originate from a natural or anthropogenic source
(or both).
It is estimated that anthropogenic sources have changed
the composition of global air by less than 0.01%.
However, it is widely accepted that even a small change
can have a significant adverse effect on the climate,
ecosystem and species on the planet.
Examples of these are acid rain, ozone in the lower
atmosphere, and photochemical smog.
Composition of
dry atmosphere, by volume
ppmv: parts per million by volume
Gas Volume
Nitrogen (N2) 780,840 ppmv (78.084%)
Oxygen (O2) 209,460 ppmv (20.946%)
Argon (Ar) 9,340 ppmv (0.9340%)
Carbon dioxide
375 ppmv
(CO2)
Neon (Ne) 18.18 ppmv
Helium (He) 5.24 ppmv
Methane (CH4) 1.745 ppmv
Krypton (Kr) 1.14 ppmv
Hydrogen (H2) 0.55 ppmv
Not included in above dry atmosphere:
Water vapor
typically 1%
(highly variable)
Gas Volume
nitrous
0.5 ppmv
oxide
xenon 0.09 ppmv
ozone 0.0 to 0.07 ppmv
nitrogen
0.02 ppmv
dioxide
iodine 0.01 ppmv
carbon
trace
monoxide
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
1
Not to be exceeded more than once per year.
2
To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the weighted annual mean PM10 concentration at
each monitor within an area must not exceed 50 ug/m3.
3
To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the weighted annual mean PM2.5 concentrations
3
from single or multiple community-oriented monitors must not exceed 15.0 ug/m .
4
To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations at
3
each population-oriented monitor within an area must not exceed 65 ug/m .
5
To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average
ozone concentrations measured at each monitor within an area over each year must not exceed
0.08 ppm.
Index PSI Cautionary
Value Descriptor
General Statements
Health
Effects
Up to 50 Good None for the None required.
general population.