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Introduction
We could live about a month without food. We could
even live for several days without water. But without air,
we cannot live more than a few minutes.
We might foul the air so badly in some places that it
could become unfit to breath. In some areas, the air is so
bad that people become sick from breathing it, and some
even die because of it.
The World Health Organization estimates that a billion
people live in places where the air is substandard and
that air pollution kills 8,000 people a day worldwide.
About 90% of the deaths occur in developing countries.
What is air pollution?
What is air pollution?
automobile exhaust
industrial emissions
Natural Pollution
Wildfires
Windblown dust
Volcanic eruptions
Burning of fossil fuels
(Chemistry Book)
Explanation-Cars
Cars are wonderful things. You can go where you want and when. You can travel with friends or family in a
weatherproof lounge-room on wheels that whisks you along far faster than you could run. But they do create air
pollution.
Lead in petrol
Lead is put in petrol to make older designs of car engine work better – but if it gets into your body it will have the
opposite effect. The lead comes from the exhausts of cars running on leaded petrol and it is poisonous stuff.
Babies and young children can be badly affected by lead – because it can stop their nervous systems developing
properly and it can damage their brains. Once lead has found its way into your body it is difficult to get it out again,
so it is obviously better to keep it out in the first place. Changing from leaded to unleaded petrol has already
helped reduce the problems caused by lead poisoning. But one of the problems is that Australians tend to keep
their cars for a very long time, so although unleaded petrol is used in all cars less than 10 years old, it will take a
while for all the old cars using leaded petrol to vanish from our roads.
Photochemical smog
Photochemical smog (where ozone is generated) is the main air pollution problem in the larger Australian cities,
because of our sunny weather. It is caused by the release of nitrogen oxides, mainly from motor vehicles. Under
the influence of sunlight, these oxides react with certain hydrocarbon compounds to form various substances that
are toxic to humans and plants. The smog irritates people's eyes, nose and throat, causing considerable
discomfort.
Ozone is an extremely irritating and poisonous gas, and concentrations in our cities can exceed recommended
health limits for short periods during photochemical smog episodes. The air circulation patterns in some of our
cities (where polluted air may recirculate for some time before being swept away) worsen the problem.
(Ozone levels are rising in the lower atmosphere; the destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere is a quite
separate problem, see our Nova topic Earth's sunscreen – the ozone layer.)
All of this is bad news for us and bad news for the planet – so what are we doing about it?
Catalytic converters
Development of catalytic converters has helped reduce pollutants in car exhaust. The converter is a special box
that goes onto a car's exhaust system just past the engine. It is sealed on the outside, but inside is a heat-proof
block with lots of holes through it – a bit like a big bundle of hollow spaghetti. As the car's hot exhaust gases pass
through this honeycomb of holes, they come into contact with a thin coating of precious metal – usually platinum.
This coating causes chemical changes to take place in the exhaust gases, which much reduce the pollutants
coming out of the car.
But as more and more cars take to the road, even these much cleaner cars are still a major source of pollution.
Also, using a precious metal like platinum makes the converters very expensive to produce.
Explanation-Natural Pollution
Even before there were people, there were air pollution.
Wildfires, windblown dust, and volcanic eruptions added
pollutants to the atmosphere, and they still do so.
Volcanoes spew ash and poisonous gases into the
atmosphere.
Example: In 1995 eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano
on Montserrat covered much of the Caribbean island
with ash. The ash and fear of further eruptions caused
the evacuation of more than half the country.
Dust storms, especially in arid regions, add massive
amounts of particulate matter to the atmosphere.
Explanation-Burning of Coal
Air Pollution in China
As China strives to become an industrial power, its people are paying a
heavy price in pollution. Coal burning supplies about ¾ of China’s
commercial energy needs. The coal has a high sulfur content, and emission
controls are often inadequate. As a result, levels of sulfur dioxide and
particulate matter are among the highest in the world. About half of China’s
largest cities have SO2 levels above the WHO guidelines. Some cities, such
as Lanzhou and Taiyuan, have levels almost 10 times the WHO standard.
All but 2 of 82 cities monitored exceeded WHO guidelines for particular
matter.
China’s growing fleet of motor vehicles also contributes to air pollution
problems. Most vehicles are operated in large cities, and because few have
effective emission controls, they contribute heavily to the smog in these
cities.
China is beginning to attack the problem by closing heavily polluting
factories in some larger metropolitan areas. The Chinese government has
also invested in gas and in cleaner, more efficient briquettes as
replacements for raw coal as a fuel for domestic cooking and heating.
Major Air Pollutants