UNIT 5

ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION

Make Summary
1. Air Pollution
Pollutans are substances which are harmful to the environment. They can
cause harm or damage to people, animals, vegetatiton, buildings and
machines. The air around contains thousands or pollutants as a result of
human activities. Some pollutants, such as smoke, can be seen or smelts.
However the majority are invisible. Some important common pollutants
are carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and methane.

Questions and Answer

1. What is meant by pollution?
Pollution is substance which are harmful to the environment because it
can cause environmental damage
2. What are the types of pollution?
The types of pollution is air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution
and so on
3. What are the causes of air pollution?
Mostly caused by human activities such as motor vehicle fumes,
industrial activities, cigarette smoke, the use of chemicals that produce
gas
4. How is the impact of air pollution?
Occurrence of respiratory problems such as lung disorders,
Disrupting skin health, so that the skin will look dull, degenerate
elasticity, premature aging, premature crackers, black spots, and skin
cancer.
Causes recurrence of asthma, Triggers acid rain, Causing global
warming, Disrupting plant growth
5. Mention examples of pollutant gases that are often found
Some important common pollutants are carbon monoxide, sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen oxide and methane.
2. Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless and poisonous gas. It can cause
headaches, breathing difficulties, and heart damage. Quite small amounts
can be lethal. Carbon monoxide can be from nature from the result of
forest fires. However, most of it comes from incomplete combustion of
fuel in motor vehicle engines.

Questions and Answer

1. What is carbon monoxide?
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas that is colorless, tasteless, non-
irritating and odorless. This gas is produced by combustion of gas, oil,
petrol, solid fuel or wood.
2. How the effects of carbon monoxide on health?
Effects of carbon monoxide on health It can cause headaches,
breathing difficulties, and heart damage
3. How the origin of carbon monoxide is formed?
Carbon monoxide can be from nature from the result of forest fires.
Combustion of fossil fuels with air whose reaction is not m
stoichiometric is at the price of ER> 1.
At high temperatures a reaction occurs between carbon dioxide (CO2)
and carbon C which produces carbon monoxide (CO) gas.
At high temperatures, CO2 can break down again into CO and oxygen
4. Where does carbon monoxide come from?
Carbon monoxide originating from nature includes the ocean,
atmospheric metal oxidation, mountains, wildfires and natural electric
storms. Artificial CO sources include motorized vehicles, especially
those using gasoline
3. Sulphur dioxide
Sulphur dioxide irritates the eyes and causes breathing difficulties. It can
come from coal and petroleum which are used to generate electricity and
provide energy. Both fuels contains shulphur as an impurity, although
there is more of it in coal. It is estimated that 70% of worldwide
atmospheric shulpur dioxide comes from power stations

Questions and Answer

1. What is sulphur dioxide?
Sulfur dioxide is a species of sulfur oxide gases (SOx). This gas is
very easily dissolved in water, has a smell but is colorless. As with
O3, secondary pollutants formed from SO2, such as sulfate particles,
can be moved and deposited away from the source.
2. What is the danger of sulfur dioxide?
Sulphur dioxide irritates the eyes and causes breathing difficulties
 3. Where sulfuer dioxide comes from?
SO2 and other sulfur oxide gases are formed when burning fossil fuels containing
sulfur occurs. Sulfur itself is present in almost all unprocessed raw materials such
as crude oil, coal, and ores containing metals such as aluminum, copper, zinc, lead
and iron
4. Nitrogen Oxides
Nitrogen oxide occurs naturally in lightning and forest fires. However, a
lot of extra nitrogen oxides is procuded inside car engine and some ae
also produced by power stations and industries. Nitrogen dioxide can also
react with other pollutants to produce ozone, another serious pollutant.

Questions and Answer

1. What is nitrogen oxides?
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) is a gas compound found in free air
(atmosphere) which consists mainly of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen
dioxide (NO2) and various types of oxides in smaller amounts.
2. What is the impact of nitrogen oxide on health?
The toxicity of NO2 gas is four times stronger than gas toxicity NO.
The most sensitive organs for NO2 gas pollution are the lungs. Lungs
contaminated by NO2 gas will swell so that people have difficulty
breathing which can lead to death.
3. What is the reaction of nitrogen oxides with other pollutants?
Nitrogen dioxide can also react with other pollutants to produce
ozone,another serious pollutant
5. Methane
Methane (CH4) is small amounts of methane are harmless to people but
help trap heat from the sun. The increasing atmospheric methane,
together with other gases, is believed to be increasing the temperature of
the earth’s surface. This change is known as global warming or the
Greenhouse Effect and is likely to cause widespread flooding of low-
lying land as the sea expands. However, the amount of methane in the air
is increasing because of human activities such as agriculture.

Questions and Answer

1. What is methane gas?
Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon in the form of a gas with the CH4
chemical formula. Pure methane is odorless, but if it is used for
commercial purposes, usually a little smell of sulfur is added to detect
leaks that might occur
2. How the impact of methane gas on the environment?
The increasing atmospheric methane, together with other gases, is
believed to be increasing the temperature of the earth’s surface
3. What are the benefits of methane gas?
as vehicle fuel, stove fuel, fertilizer-making materials, power plants

The statement the majority are invisible means that...

a. Few pollutants can be seen
b. Most pollutans can be seen
c. Most Pollutants can not be seen
d. A few pollutants can not be seen
Because of CO properties, its presence can
a. Be ignored
b. Be detected
c. Not be felt
d. Be harmless in quite small amount
The sources of carbon monoxide,mainly,come from
a. Complete burning of fuel in vehicle
b. Incomplete burning of fuel in vehicle
c. Forest fires
d. Vehicle and nature
The main contribution of sulphur dioxide is from
a. Industries
b. Coal companies
c. Petroleum companies
d. Electricity companies
One of the following pollutants which harms only our lung is
a. Methana
b. Sulphur dioxide
c. Nitrogen Oxide
d. Carbon monoxide
Methana which does not cause harm is from
a. Human activities
b. Vegetation
c. Agriculture
d. Farm animal
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
1. Complete the sentences with a word from the box below
a. Most types of paper are reycylable
b. There are six main air pollutants
c. We are setting up an environmentally management system
d. We need to fine a better way to dispose of our waste
e. It’s an environmental friendly product
f. We have an office paper recycling scheme in our company
g. Pollutionts is having in effect on the world climate
h. They manufacture cheap disposable cigarette lighters
2. Match the two parts of the sentences
a. Yo can be fined for breaking pollutionts laws
b. Our product minimise damage to the environment
c. Most plastics dont biodegrade in the environment
d. We’re hopping to use more energy from alternatife sources
e. We can save energy by using a heat recovery process
3. Complete the sentences with the correct verb in italic
A. When fossil fuels are burned, they take off CO2
B. We need to clear up our production process
C. We are trying to bring down the amount of packaging we use
D. You can heat down plastic and make it into different product
E. It’s better to recycle glass bottles than to throw them away
F. Most hamburger boxes don’t break down in the environment
G. The EU will bring in new legislation next year
4. Fill in the blank with are allowed to/aren’t allowed to or have to
A. We have to exceed the permitted levels
B. Factories aren’t allowed to dump rubbish in the river. They can be
fined if they do
C. Manufacturers have to follow strict enviromental guidelines
D. We have to reduce our CO2 emissions by 5% next year
E. The government sets strict limits on landfill. We allowed to send only
50 percent of our waste to landfill sites
F. Paint producers aren’t allowed to use lead in their paint any more
because it’s a health hazard