AIR POLLUTION

Fact 1: Inhaling air pollution takes away at least 1-2 years of a typical human life.

Fact 2: Rising levels of air pollution in Beijing has brought a new disease – Beijing cough.

Fact 3: Air pollution is not a recent occurrence. In 1952, the Great Smog of London killed 8000 people.

Fact 4: Air pollution caused in traffic increase the chances of heart attack.

Fact 5: Air pollution and resulting deaths are increasing fastest in Asia.

Fact 6: Air pollution in China can travel up to Central Valley of California.

Fact 7: 65% of the deaths in Asia and 25% deaths in India are due to air pollution.

Fact 8: 2 million cars in Manila, Philippines cause 80% of air pollution.

Fact 9: During heavy traffic jam, pollutants outside can seep into your car, making the air inside you car 10 times more polluted than typical city air.

Fact 10: By 2050, 6 million people will die per year due to air pollution.

Sources of Air Pollutants

Natural Sources vs. Man-made Sources

AIR POLLUTION

Causes and effect of Air Pollution

5 Major Pollutants:

1..) Carbon Monoxide

2.) Sulfur Dioxide

3.) Nitrogen Dioxide

4.) Particulate Matter

5.) Ground Level Ozone

Sulfur Dioxide

Carbon Monoxide

Particulate Matter

Nitrogen Dioxide

Ground Level Ozone

-colorless, odorless

-produced when carbon does not burn in fossil fuels

-present in car exhaust

-deprives body of O2 causing headaches, fatigue, and impaired vision

reddish, brown gas

produced when nitric oxide combines with oxygen in the atmosphere

present in car exhaust and power plants

affects lungs and causes wheezing; increases chance of respiratory infection

-produced when coal and fuel oil are burned

-present in power plant exhaust

-narrows the airway, causing wheezing and shortness of breath, especially in those with asthma

particles of different sizes and structures that are released into the atmosphere

present in many sources including fossil fuels, dust, smoke, fog, etc.

can build up in respiratory system

aggravates heart and lung disease; increases risk of respiratory infection

at upper level, ozone shields Earth from sun’s harmful UV rays

at ground level, ozone is harmful pollutants

formed from car, power and chemical plant exhaust

irritate respiratory system and asthma; reduces lung function by inflaming and damaging lining of lungs

these 5 together form:

EFFECTS:

GLOBAL WARMING

tHINNING OF OZONE LAYER

Other effects:

SMOG

GREENHOUSE EFFECT

Combination of gases with water vapor and dust

Combination of words smoke and fog

Forms when heat and sunlight react gases (photochemical smog)

Occurs often with heavy traffic, high temperatures, and calm winds

1st smog related deaths were in London in 1873; death toll 500 people; can you imagine how much worse the atmosphere is now?!

Limits visibility

Decreases UV radiation

Yellow/black color over cities

Causes respiratory problems and bronchial related deaths

SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

History of Air Pollution

LAWS ABOUT AIR POLLUTION

ACID RAIN

Republic Act (RA) 8749: Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1999

Provides for a comprehensive air quality management policy and

program which aims to achieve and maintain healthy air for all

Filipinos.

Smoke belching vehicles on the road will undergo emission testing.

Violators will be subject to the following fines/penalties:

1st Offense P 1,000.00

2nd Offense P 3,000.00

3rd Offense P 5,000.00 plus a seminar on pollution management

RA 9729: Climate Change Act of 2009

RA 9729 aims to systematically integrate the concept of climate

change in the policy formulation and development plans of all

government agencies and units, to the end that the government will

be prepared for the impact of climate change.

RA 9512: Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008.

It’s an Act to promote environmental awareness through

Environmental Education (EE) and covers the integration of EE in

the school curricula at all levels, be it public or private, including day

care, preschool, non-formal, technical, vocational, indigenous

learning, and out-of-school youth courses or programs.

• 1272

-King Edward I of England bans use of "sea coal."

• 1377-1399

-Richard II restricts use of coal.

• 1413-1422

-Henry V restricts/regulates use of coal.

1611

-By royal command of Charles II, John Evenly of the Royal Societies publishes “Fumifungium; or the Inconvenience of the air and smoke dissipated; together with some remedies humbly proposed.

1907

-Formation of the predecessor to the Air and Waste Management Association.

1955 First Federal Air Pollution Control Act

-Funds for research

OUTDOOR

INDOOR

Air Pollution Episodes

1930 -3 day fog in Meuse Valley, Belgium

1931 -9 day fog in Manchester, England

1948 -Plant emissions in Donora, Penn, US

1952 -4 day fog in London, England

1970 -Radionuclide emissions, Three Mile Island, US

1984 -Release of Methyl isocynate in Bhopal, India

1986 -Radionuclide releases, Chernobyl, Ukraine 

1997 – Haze disaster in Indonesia

2001 – Wildfires in Sierra Nevada, US

2001 – Enormous clouds of dust in New York during Collapse of World Trade Center, US

2002 – Violent dust storm in Queensland, Australia

2005 - Jilin chemical plant explosions, Jilin city, China

2007 – Wildfires in TALLAHASSEE Florida, US

2008 - Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, Kingston, US

Facts about Air Pollution

Air Pollutant

Contaminant that affects human life, plant life, animal life and property could be termed as an air pollutant.

Air pollutants are classified into two categories:

Primary pollutants: These pollutants are emitted from a source directly into the atmosphere.

e.g. Sulfur dioxide and Hydrocarbons

Secondary pollutants: These are formed due to the chemical reaction among two or more pollutants.

e.g. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN )

Sources of Air Pollution

design by Dóri Sirály for Prezi

Natural Sources

Volcanoes

Coniferous forests

  Forest fires

  Pollens

  Spores

  Dust storms

  Hot springs

Man-made Sources

  Fuel combustion - Largest contributor

  Chemical plants

  Motor vehicles

  Power and heat generators

  Waste disposal sites

  Operation of internal-combustion engines

Pollutants released from natural sources like volcanoes, coniferous forests, and hot springs have a minimal effect on environment when compared to that caused by emissions from man-made sources like industrial sources, power and heat generation, waste disposal, and the operation of internal combustion engines.

Fuel combustion is the largest contributor to air pollutant emissions, caused by man, with stationary and mobile sources equally responsible.