Why does ground level ozone affect the lungs?
By: Nik Ford
Background Info
- Ozone is made up of 3 atoms of oxygen
- Ozone was discovered in 1867 by Schonbein Andrews in a lab
- There can be bad or good ozone depending on where it is located. In the upper atmospheres the ozone protects us from the UV rays coming from the sun.
- Although ozone is 3 billion metric tons it only composes of .00006 percent of the mass in the atmosphere
- 90 percent of it sits in the stratosphere
- The natural ozone in the stratosphere is created by a balance of the sunlight that creates O3 and the chemical reactions that destroy it
- Ozone screens all of the most energetic, UV-c, radiation, and most of the UV-b radiation.
- Ground level ozone is not just an air pollutant but the third most important greenhouse gas behind CO2 and methane
Ground level Ozone over the years
- Air quality monitors measure the concentrations of ozone throughout the country
- The chart shows that the mean ozone levels have declined since the 80's and stayed stagant in the 90's and after 2002 saw a noticable decline
- But the EPA uses statistcal model to account for any weather related affects on the ozone levels to provide an accuarte assement
- Based on the data there was a 29 percent decrease in ozone concentration
- Most studies have reported significant increases in urban areas worldwide (on average + 0.31 ppb year−1) and at regional background stations (on average + 0.15 ppb year−1) since the 1990s
Formation process
- Ground level ozone is not emitted into the air directly it is created by chemical reactions of oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds
- VOC: combination of both man made and natural sources
- Ozone is most likely able to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny days in urban environments, but can still be at high levels during colder months.
- Ozone can also be transported long distances by wind, so even rural areas can experience high ozone levels.
- Throughout the day it shows that the peak ozone levels are in the early mornings and in the evening because of the high traffic and overhead sunlight
Impact on the environment
Impact on environment
- Not only can gound level ozone have an affect on our health but it affects plants, wildlife, and our ecosystems
- Plants are stunted because the lack of photosynthesis
- This creates a weaker system for the plants and it is harder for them to fight off disease
- This could cause less diversity in ecosystems, habitat quality would be reduced, water and nutrient cycles would have drastic changes
- The more ozone in a given parcel of air, the more heat it retains.
- Ozone generates heat in the stratosphere, both by absorbing the sun's ultraviolet radiation and by absorbing upwelling infrared radiation from the troposphere
- Decreased ozone in the stratosphere results in lower temperatures
- The increase in tempature increases the photochemical reaction rates
- As the tempature increases the more we have the need for air conditioing which means more electricity
Global Climate Models
Global climate models
Health Concerns
Health concerns
- Cause coughing and sore or scratchy throat
- Make it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously and cause pain when taking a deep breath
- Inflame and damage the airways
- Make the lungs more susceptible to infection
- Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis
- Increase the frequency of asthma attacks
- the chemicals that consist in the ground level ozone is toxic enough to irritate the lungs may permantly scar lung tissue
- Repeated exposure to high levels of ground level ozone
- Children and people with bad respiatory history are subseptible to worsen condtions
How can we help diminish these lasting affects?
How do can we help dimisnish these lasting affects?
- Instead of driving try walking or biking
- buy non toxic cleaning materials
- Cut down on your energy use
- try staying indoors on air quality action days
- Stay hydrated and breathe properly
- Avoid peak ozone times
- Move away from urban areas
How is this related to chemistry 1031?
- This topic includes these chemistry topics: writing and balancing chemical reactions, elements, molecular geometrey, mass percent, frequency, and Lewis structures
How is this related to chemistry 1031?
Questions to answer
1. What is the formula of ozone?
2. The total mass of Earth’s atmosphere is about 5.14x10^18 kg. If you assume that 78% of the molecules are nitrogen, 21% are oxygen and 1% are argon, what is the mass of oxygen gas in the atmosphere?
3. Name the molecular geometryof O3.
4.Draw the Lewis structure for ozone.