Lesson 2: Air Pollution

In this lesson you will learn about the various types of air pollution; its impacts, treatment, prevention
and protection.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
∙ Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the engineer's role in the
manipulation of materials and resources.
∙ Identify the sources of pollution and discuss how to control them

Air Pollution
(Discussion is heavily based on Environmental Science (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2015).)
Air Pollution means any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the
atmospheric air, or any discharge thereto of any liquid, gaseous or solid substances that will or is likely
to create or to render the air resources of the country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health,
safety or welfare or which will adversely affect their utilization for domestic, commercial, industrial,
agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate purposes (RA 8749, 1999).
Smoke, haze, dust, odors, corrosive gases, noise, and toxic compounds are among our most
widespread pollutants.

Source: (NASA/Public Domain, 2009)

Shown above is a photo of the atmosphere and the setting sun. In this thin line is where the air
pollutants are trapped. Almost all of what we release in the atmosphere will go back to any point in
this line, thus the adage “Tapat ko linis ko” is not applicable especially in air pollution.
Globally, air pollution is estimated to contribute to over 3 million deaths per year. Because these
deaths are usually widespread, and in developing areas where government regulation can be weak
in the first place, it is more difficult to translate these risks into new policies.
Air Pollutant
- any matter found in the atmosphere other than oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide,
and the inert gases in their natural or normal concentrations, that is detrimental to health or the
environment, which includes but not limited to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly ash, solid particles
of any kind, gases, fumes, chemical mists, steam and radio-active substances.

Ambient air quality

- the general amount of pollution present in a broad area; and refers to the atmosphere's average
purity as distinguished from discharge measurements taken at the source of pollution

Ambient Air

- The air around us

Primary Pollutants

- released directly from the source into the air in a harmful form.

Secondary Pollutants

- converted to a hazardous form after they enter the air or are formed by chemical reactions as
components of the air mix and interact.

Fugitive Emissions

- those that do not go through a smoke stack.

- By far the most massive example of this category is dust from soil erosion, strip mining, rock
crushing, and building construction (and destruction).
- Fugitive industrial emissions are hard to monitor, but they are extremely important sources of
air pollution.
- Leaks around valves and pipe joints, and evaporation of volatile compounds from oil -processing
facilities, contribute as much as 90% of the hydrocarbons and volatile organic chemicals
emitted from oil refineries and chemical plants.
Six Conventional or Criteria Pollutants
1. Sulfur dioxide
2. Nitrogen oxides
3. Carbon monoxide
4. Ozone
5. Lead
6. Particulate Matter
- These six conventional or criteria pollutants were addressed first because they contributed the
largest volume of air quality degradation and also are considered the most serious threats to
human health and welfare
Sulfur Dioxide
- Natural sources of sulfur in the atmosphere include evaporation of sea spray, erosion of sulfate
containing dust from arid soils, fumes from volcanoes and hot springs, and biogenic
emissions of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and organic sulfur- containing compounds.
- Total yearly emissions of sulfur from all sources amount to some 114 million metric tons. -
Worldwide, anthropogenic sources represent about 2/3 of the all airborne sulfur, but in most
urban areas they contribute as much as 90% of the sulfur in the air.
- Colorless corrosive gas, directly damaging to both plants and animals.
- Once in the atmosphere, it can be further oxidized to sulfur trioxide (SO3), which reacts with
water vapor or dissolves in water droplets to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4), a major component
of acid rain.
- Some of the smelliest and most obnoxious air pollutants are sulfur compounds, such as
hydrogen sulfide from pig manure lagoons or mercaptans (organo- sulfur thiols) from
paper mills.

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

- Highly reactive gases formed when nitrogen in fuel or in air is heated (during combustion) to
temperatures above 650°C in the presence of oxygen.
- Bacteria can also form NO as they oxidize nitrogen -containing compounds in soil or water.
- The initial product, nitric oxide (NO), oxidizes further in the atmosphere to nitrogen dioxide
(NO2), a reddish-brown gas that gives photochemical smog its distinctive color.
- In addition, nitrous oxide (N2O) is an intermediate form that results from soil denitrification.
Nitrous oxide absorbs ultraviolet light and is an important greenhouse gas.
- Because nitrogen readily changes from one of these forms to another by gaining or losing O
atoms, the general term NOx is used to describe these gases.
- Nitrogen oxides combine with water to make nitric acid (HNO3), a major component of acid
rain.

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

- Colorless, odorless, nonirritating, but highly toxic gas.
- Produced mainly by incomplete combustion of fuel (coal, oil, charcoal, or gas), as in furnaces,
incinerators, engines, or fires, as well as in decomposition of organic matter.
- CO blocks oxygen uptake in blood by binding irreversibly to hemoglobin (th e protein that carries
oxygen in our blood), making hemoglobin unable to hold oxygen and deliver it to cells. - Human
activities produce about half of the 1 billion metric tons of CO released to the atmosphere each
year.
- About 90% of the CO in the air is converted to CO2 in photochemical reactions that produce
ozone.
- Catalytic converters on vehicles are one of the important methods to reduce CO production by
ensuring complete oxidation of carbon to carbon dioxide (CO2).
- Carbon dioxide is the predominant form of carbon in the air.
Ozone (O3) and Photochemical Oxidants
- Ground level O3 is a product of photochemical reactions (reactions initiated by sunlight) between
other pollutants, such as NOx or volatile organic compounds. A general term for products of
these reactions is photochemical oxidants.
- One of the most important of these reactions involves splitting nitrogen dioxide (NO2) into nitrous
oxide (NO) and Oxygen (O). This single O atom is then available to combine with a molecule
of O2 to make ozone (O3).
- Hydrocarbons in the air contribute to the accumulation of ozone by combining with NO to form
new compounds, leaving single O atoms free to form O3.
- A general term for organic chemicals that evaporate easily or exist as gases in the air is Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOCs).
- Plants are the largest source of VOCs, releasing an estimated 350 million tons of isoprene
(C5H8) and 450 million tons of terpenes (C10H15) each year. Isoprene is emitted by trees like
oaks and eucalyptus and is used as raw material for polymeric products (Britannica, 2020)
while terpene is released by trees in warm weather (Adam, 2008).

Lead
- Most abundantly produced metal air pollutant.
- Lead is toxic to our nervous systems and other critical functions. Lead binds to enzymes and to
components of our cell, such as brain cells, which then cannot function normally.
- Airborne lead is produced by a wide range of industrial and mining processes.
- The main sources are smelting of metal ores, mining, and burning of coal and municipal waste,
in which lead is a trace element and burning of gasoline to which lead has been added.
- Leaded gasoline was the main source of lead in the United States, but leaded gas was phased
out in the 1980s. Banning leaded gasoline in the US was one of the most successful pollution
control measures in American history.

Other Pollutants
∙ Mercury
∙ Carbon dioxide
∙ Halogens
∙ Hazardous air pollutants(HAPs)
Mercury (Hg)
- Many toxic metals are released into the air by burning coal and oil, mining, smelting of metal
ores, or manufacturing. Lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, arsenic (highly toxic metalloid), and
others are released in the form of metal fumes or suspended particulates by fuel combustion,
ore smelting, and disposal of wastes. Among these, lead and mercury are the most abundantly
produced toxic metals.
- Volcanoes and rock weathering can produce mercury, but 70% of airborne mercury derives from
coal-burning power plants, metal processing (smelting), waste incineration, and other industrial
combustion.
- About 75% of human exposure to mercury comes from eating fish. This is because aquatic
bacteria are mainly responsible for converting airborne mercury into methyl mercury, a form
that accumulates in living animal tissues.

Carbon Dioxide
- Some 370 billion tons of CO2 are emitted each year from respiration (oxidation of organic
compounds by plant and animal cells). These releases are usually balanced by an equal uptake
by photosynthesis in green plants.
- At normal concentrations, CO2 is nontoxic and innocuous, but atmospheric levels are steadily
increasing (about 0.5 percent per year) due to human activities and are now causing global
climate change, with serious implications for both human and natural communities.

Halogens
- Three of these six greenhouse gases contain halogens, a group of lightweight, highly reactive
elements (fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine). Because they are generally toxic in their
elemental form, they are commonly used as fumigants and disinfectants, but they also have
hundreds of uses in industrial and commercial products.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been banned for most uses in industrialized countries, but
about 600 million tons of these compounds are used annually worldwide in spray propellants
and refrigeration compressors and for foam blowing. They diffuse into the stratosphere, where
they release chlorine and fluorine atoms that destroy ozone molecules that protect the earth
from ultraviolet radiation.

Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)

- These chemicals include carcinogens, neurotoxins, mutagens, teratogens, endocrine system
disrupters, and other highly toxic compounds.
- Most of these chemicals are either metal compounds, chlorinated hydrocarbons, or volatile
organic compounds.
- Gasoline vapors, solvents, and components of plastics are all HAPs that you may encounter on
a daily basis.
Aesthetic Degradation
- Any undesirable change in the physical characteristics or chemistry of the atmosphere, such as
noise, odors, and light pollution.
- They also increase stress, which affects health.

Important Chronic Health Effects of Air Pollutants

- Bronchitis – a persistent inflammation of bronchi and bronchioles (large and small airways in the
lung) that causes mucus buildup, a painful cough, and involuntary muscle spasms that constrict
airways.
- Emphysema – severe bronchitis, an irreversible chronic obstructive lung disease in which
airways become permanently constricted and alveoli are damaged or even destroyed.

Acid Precipitation
- The deposition of wet acidic solutions or dry acidic particles from the air.

Saving Energy and Reducing Pollution

- Conserve energy: carpool, bike, walk, use public transport, and buy compact fluorescent bulbs
and energy efficient appliances. Fortunately, Batangas City has wide pathways so it’s easier to
choose to walk from one place to another.
- Don’t use polluting two-cycle gasoline engines if cleaner four-cycle models are available for
lawn mowers, boat motors, etc.
- Buy refrigerators and air conditioners designed for CFC alternatives and with high energy
efficiency rating (EER). If you have old appliances or other CFC sources, replace them ASAP
and dispose them responsibly. In the long run, old appliances are more expensive due to
higher consumption in electricity.
- Plant trees and air purifying plants, and care for them. Not only can trees take CO2 from the air,
but they can also make a place cooler by shading (Where do you want to park in an open area?
Near a tree), so if they are near a building, AC usage can be lessened.
- Avoid spray-can products. Light charcoal fires with electric starters rather than petroleum
products.
- Don’t top off your fuel tank when you buy gasoline; stop when the automatic mechanism
turns off the pump. Don’t dump gasoline or used oil on the ground or down the drain.
Source: (WHO, 2018)