Chapter 11.

Environmental
Pollution
Discussing the importance of Pollution Prevention.
This is a two-part module.
 OVERVIEW QUESTIONS

11.2.1 Why is it important to study Air Pollution and Climate Change?

11.2.2 What are the prevention technologies of Air pollution?

11.2.3 Why is Global Warming and Climate Change an issue?

11.2.1
Why is it important to
study Air Pollution and
Climate Change?
Environmental Pollution Part 2
 Air Quality
Air quality is a descriptive
measure of how clean or
polluted the air is.
Monitoring air quality is
important because polluted
air can be bad for our
health—and the health of
the environment. Air quality
is measured with the Air
Quality Index, or AQI.
Air quality are greatly influenced or set on 3 types of data:

HEALTH PHYSICAL BIOLOGICAL

EFFECTS PROPERTIES PROPERTIES
 Clean Air Act 1970
The Clean Air Act is a United States
federal law designed to control air
pollution on its national level. It
requires the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce
regulations to protect the general
public from exposure airborne
contaminations that are known to be
hazardous to human health
Clean Air Act of 1999
(RA 8749) Carbon Monoxide

Lead
In 1999, the Philippine Clean Air Act was
enacted into law to maintain the quality of air
and protect human life from the dangers of
Ground-Level Ozone
pollution.
Particulate Matter
Air quality standards are based on air quality
criteria, with added safety factors as desired.
Nitrogen Dioxide
Here are the six (6) outdoor pollutants
regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Sulfur Dioxide
 Air Pollution
Air pollution may be defined as the presence of any
solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise
and radioactive radiation in the atmosphere in such
concentration that may be directly and indirectly
injurious to humans or other living organisms,
plants, property or interferes with the normal
environmental processes
Classifications of Air Pollutants

Pollutant Type
Classification

1. Primary
2. Secondary
Classifications of Air Pollutants

Pollutant Origin
Classification

In origin (location), this

can be classified
further into:

1. Natural Sources
2. Stationary Sources
3. Area Sources
4. Mobile Sources
Main Sources of Air Pollution

NATURAL SOURCES ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES

● Volcanic Eruptions ● Rapid Industrialization
● Forest Fires ● Transportation
● Dust Storms ● Fossil Fuel and Fire Burning
● Oceans ● Deforestation
● Extra Terrestrial/ Cosmic/Asteroids ● Population Growth
● Agricultural Activities
● Solid Waste Disposal
● Construction Activities
● Wars

Air pollutants are of two types (1) suspended particulate matter, and (2) gaseous
pollutants like carbon dioxide (CO2), NOx etc. Both Natural and Anthropogenic sources
produce all types.
Particulate air pollutants, their sources and effects

Pollutants Sources Effects

Depends on specific
composition
Suspended Smoke from domestic,
Reduces sunlight and visibility,
Particulate industrial and vehicular
increases corrosion.
matter/ dust soot
Pneumoconiosis, asthma,
cancer, and other lung diseases.

Settles down on vegetation,

Part of smoke released
houses. Adds to the suspended
from chimneys of
Fly ash participate matter (SPM) in the
factories and power
air. Leachates contain harmful
plants
material.
Gaseous Pollutants

Power plants, industries, different

types of vehicles – both private
and commercial use petrol, diesel
as fuel and release gaseous
pollutants such as carbon dioxide,
oxides of nitrogen and Sulphur
dioxide along with particulate
matter in the form of smoke. All of
these have harmful effects on
plants and humans.
Gaseous Pollutants
Pollutants Sources Effects
Carbon compound Automobile exhaust burning of • Respiratory problems
(CO and CO2) wood and coal • Green house effect

• Irritation in eyes and lungs

Nitrogen Compound (NO Motor vehicle exhaust atmospheric • Low productivity in plants
and N2O) reaction • Acid rain damages material (metals
• and stone)

Hydrocarbons Automobiles and petroleum • Respiratory problem

(benzene, ethylene) industries • Cancer causing properties

SPM (Suspended • Poor visibility, breathing problems

Particulate Matter) Thermal power plants, • Lead interferes with the development
(Any solid and liquid) Construction activities, of red blood diseases and cancer.
particles suspended • metallurgical processes and • Smog (smoke & fog) formation leads to
in the air, (flush, dust, automobiles. poor visibility and aggravates asthma in
lead) patients.

Textiles and carpet weaving

Fibres (Cotton, wool) • Lung disorders
industries
 Indoor Air Pollution
Poor ventilation due to faulty
design of buildings leads to
pollution of the confined space.
Paints, carpets, furniture, etc. in
rooms may give out volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) or
harmful gases such as Radon.
Use of disinfectants, fumigants,
etc. may release hazardous
gases.
11.2.2
What are the prevention
technologies of Air
pollution?
Environmental Pollution Part 2
Indoor Air Pollution Prevention

Energy Source House Design Coverings &

Replacement Improvement Segregation
Use of wood and The house designs Segregation of
dung cakes should should incorporate waste,
be replaced by a well ventilated pretreatment at
cleaner fuels such kitchen. source, sterilization
as biogas, kerosene of rooms will help
or electricity. in checking indoor
air pollution.
Prevention & Control of Industrial Air Pollution
Filters – Filters remove particulate matter from the
gas stream. The medium of a filter may be made of
fibrous materials like cloth, granular material like
sand, a rigid material like screen, or any mat like felt
pad. Baghouse filtration system is the most common
one and is made of cotton or synthetic fibers ( for low
temperatures) or glass cloth fabrics (for higher
temperature up to 290oC).

Electrostatic precipitators (ESP)- The emanating dust

is charged with ions and the ionized particulate
matter is collected on an oppositely charged surface.
The particles are removed from the collection surface
by occasional shaking or by rapping the surface. ESPs
are used in boilers, furnaces, and many other units of
thermal power plants, cement factories, steel plants,
Prevention & Control of Industrial Air Pollution
Inertial collectors – It works on the principle that
inertia of SPM in a gas is higher than its solvent
and as inertia is a function of the mass of the
particulate matter this device collects heavier
particles more efficiently. ‘Cyclone’ is a common
inertial collector used in gas cleaning plants.

Scrubbers – Scrubbers are wet collectors. They

remove aerosols from a stream of gas either by
collecting wet particles on a surface followed by
their removal, or else the particles are wetted by a
scrubbing liquid. The particles get trapped as they
travel from supporting gaseous medium across
the interface to the liquid scrubbing medium.
Control of Vehicular Pollution
1. The emission standards for automobiles have been set which if followed
will reduce the pollution. Standards have been set for the durability of
catalytic converters which reduce vehicular emission.

2. Securing a permit from government agencies at regular intervals. This

ensures that levels of pollutants emitted from vehicle exhaust are not
beyond the prescribed legal limits.

3. The price of diesel is much cheaper than petrol which promotes use of
diesel. To reduce emission of sulphur dioxide, sulphur content in diesel
has been reduced to 0.05%.

4. Earlier lead in the form of tetraethyl lead was added in the petrol to raise
octane level for smooth running of engines. Addition of lead in petrol has
been banned to prevent emission of lead particles with the vehicular
11.2.3
Why is Global Warming
and Climate Change an
issue?
Environmental Pollution Part 2
The Atmosphere

Our atmosphere is made of oxygen (O2) at 21%,

nitrogen (N2) at 78% amd other gas at 1%
These gases are transparent to both visible light
from the sun and thermal infrared light from the
earth.
Greenhouse gases (GHG), like water vapor,
carbon dioxide and methane, are vitally important
for keeping our planet warm.
Although these gases are found in small
concentrations, they are vitally important in
maintaining a globally averaged temperature of
15oC.
The atmosphere is thin and sustains life, yet it is a
reacting vessel of natural processes. Any
imbalance of its components would lead to
changes in weather and climate that could affect
us all.
 Composition of Air
O2
Nitrogen Carbon Dioxide
CO2 78.08% 0.038%
Essential for plant Essential for plant growth.
growth The gas we exhale.

Other
Gases
Oxygen Trace Gases
20.95%
Essential for breathing 0.002%
and needed for These include, Ozone (O3),
combustion methane (CH4) helium (He),
Ar Argon
water vapor (H2O) and others

N2 0.93%
Non-reactive gas
 Weather vs Climate

Weather consists of short-term changes in

atmospheric variables, such as the temperature and
precipitation in each area over a period of hours or
days.

Climate is determined by the average weather

conditions of the earth or of a particular area,
especially temperature and precipitation, over periods
of at least three decades to thousands of years.
Anthropogenic Activities
Human activities and its pollution generations tend to increase
the emission of GHG which made the temperature of the earth’s
atmosphere rises then changes the earth’s climate.

• Global Warming is the rise in global temperatures due mainly

to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.

• Climate Change refers to the increasing changes in the

measures of climate over a long period of time – including
precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns.
Global Temperatures For the past 1000 years, the
average temperature of the
atmosphere has remained
stable but began rising during
the last century when people
began clearing more forests
and burning more fossil fuels.

Four Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

absorb the heat which warms
the lower atmosphere and the
earth’s surface, helping to
create a livable climate.
• Water vapor (H2O).
• Carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Methane (CH4).
• Nitrous oxide (N2O).
Much of Alaska’s Muir Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park
melted between 1948 and 2004

BEFORE AFTER
A 2008 U.S. Geological Survey report concluded that the world’s
average sea level will most likely rise 0.8–2 meters (3–6.5 feet)
by the end of this century and probably keep rising for
centuries.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions

• Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

show that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide rose from a
level of 285 parts per million (ppm) around 1850 at the start of the
Industrial Revolution, to 390 ppm in 2010, a 37% increase.

• Major climate models indicate a need to prevent CO 2 levels from

exceeding 450 ppm—an estimated threshold, or irreversible tipping
point, that could set into motion large-scale climate changes for
hundreds to thousands of years.
Warming the Planet
Human activities trigger new and abrupt climate and ecological
changes that could last for thousands of years.
• Ecosystems collapsing.
• Floods in low-lying coastal cities (Sea Level Rise)
• Forests consumed in vast wildfires.
• Grasslands, dried out from prolonged drought, turning into dust bowls.
• Rivers and supplies of drinking and irrigation water could dry up.
• The growth of trees and other plants declines.
• Wildfires increase in frequency.
• Declining stream flows and less available surface water
• Falling water tables with more evaporation, worsened by farmers
irrigating more to make up for drier conditions.
• Shrinking lakes, reservoirs, and inland seas.
• Dwindling rivers.
• Water shortages for 1–3 billion people.
• Declining biodiversity.
Frequent Acid Rain
 SEA
LEVEL
RISE

According to the study produced by Climate Central,

a science organization based in New Jersey, and
published in the journal Nature Communications, rising
seas could affect three times more people by 2050
than previously thought, threatening to all but erase
Food & Health Effects
A warmer world is likely to threaten the
health of many people

1. More frequent and prolonged heat

waves in some areas will incr ea s e
numbers of deaths and illnesses,
especially among older people, people
in poor health, and the urban poor who
cannot afford air conditioning.
2. Hunger and malnutrition will increase in
areas where agricultural production
drops.
3. A warmer, CO 2 -rich world will favor
rapidly multiplying insects, microbes,
toxic molds, and fungi that make us
sick, and plants that produce pollens
that cause allergies and asthma attacks.
Preventing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Four major prevention strategies

1. Improve energy efficiency to reduce fossil fuel use,

especially the use of coal.
2. Shift from nonrenewable carbon-based fossil fuels to a mix
of low-carbon renewable energy resources based on local
and regional availability.
3. Stop cutting down tropical forests and plant trees to help
remove more CO2 from the atmosphere.
4. Shift to more sustainable and climate-friendly agriculture.
 Ways to slow
atmospheric
warming and
projected climate
disruption during
this century
 You can reduce
your annual
emissions of CO2
Governments can help reduce climate disruption threat

Governments can use four major methods to promote the

solutions.

1. Strictly regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

2. Phase out the most inefficient polluting coal-burning power
plants and replace them with more efficient, cleaner
natural gas and renewable energy such as wind power.
3. Tax each unit of CO2 or CH4 emitted or burned by fossil fuel
use, and offsetting these tax increases by reducing taxes on
income, wages, and profits.
4. Use a cap-and-trade system.
 Example: Recovering the ozone layer

In 1987, representatives of 36 nations

Problem began with the discovery of More biologically damaging UV-A and met in Montreal, Canada, and
the first chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) in UV-B radiation will reach the earth’s developed the Montreal Protocol to cut
1930 and later Freon. surface. emissions of CFCs.

CFCs are persistent chemicals that Causes problems with human health, I n 1992, ad op t e d t he C o p e n h a g e n
destroy the ozone layer. crop yields, forest productivity, climate Protocol, an amendment that
change, wildlife populations, air accelerated the phase-out of key ozone-
pollution, and degradation of outdoor depleting chemicals signed by 195
materials. countries.

The ozone protocols set an important

precedent by using prevention to solve
a serious environmental problem.
 Three Big Ideas
All countries need to step up efforts to control and prevent all sorts of anthropogenic
environmental pollution.

Reducing the projected harmful effects of rapid climate disruption during this century
requires emergency action to increase energy efficiency, sharply reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, rely more on renewable energy resources, and slow population growth.

Everyone has a role to play to reduce pollution. Example is phasing out the use of chemicals
that have reduced ozone levels in the stratosphere and allowed more harmful ultraviolet
radiation to reach the earth’s surface.
 Thanks!
Do you have any
questions?

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