7.1:
● Air pollution: must be in atmosphere, and harmful to humans or environment.
● Atmospheric pollution can be natural or anthropogenic.
● Primary pollutant: emitted directly into atmosphere.
○ Natural: pollen, volcanic ash, VOCs given off by plants.
○ Anthropogenic: products of combustion of fossil fuels (CO2, NOx, SO2).
● Secondary pollutants: form once primary pollutants are in the atmosphere and interact
with other atmospheric gases, each other, or presence in sunlight (UV radiation can
break down elements). This forms new molecules, or pollutants.
○ Usually by combining water vapor or other atmospheric gases, with energy from
sun.
○ Example: Tropospheric ozone (bad, ground level ozone), acid rain
■ Stratospheric ozone is good, not a pollutant.
● EPA made Clean AIr Act first, followed by National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) under this act for six criteria pollutants deemed most harmful to human health.
Remember SPLONC.
○ Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
○ Particulate matter (PM)
○ Lead (Pb)
○ Ozone (O3)
○ Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
○ Carbon monoxide (CO)
● Lead was used as gasoline additive in 1920s.
● In 1960s, health impacts of lead were studied.
● Low level lead exposure can cause anemia, behavioral disorders, lowered IQ, reading
and learning disabilities, and nerve damage in children.
○ In adults, can cause hypertension, cardiovascular disease.
● Almost every country has unleaded gas, causing huge reduction and decline in lead
levels in childrens’ blood and in atmospheric lead. Decline after SPLONC.
● Combustion of fossil fuels releases energy stored during photosynthesis (glucose,
C6H12O6 is storing potential energy).
○ Fossil fuels are burned to get energy out.
○ All fossil fuels contain carbon and hydrogen.
, ○ Combustion of carbon creates CO2.
○ Order of cycle: Carbon from atmosphere, into plants, into glucose, into fossil
fuels, burned/combusted millions of years later and becoming CO2.
■ Carbon has not been in the atmosphere for millions of years.
○ Coal has other elements absorbed by plants during life, or trapped in sediment
with organic material over time when becoming fossil fuel.
■ Impurities make it a dirty fuel, and are released during combustion.
■ Specific impurity elements vary by region.
● Formation of coal:
○ Plant matter over time with heat and pressure becomes compacted (peat), and
becomes lignite, bituminous, and anthracite.
○ Impurities decrease over time due to increasing heat and pressure.
● Impurities in coal released during combustion:
○ Sulfur: is part of rock cycle process, which is why so much is in coal.
■ Most sulfur is from marine biomass.
■ Sulfur dioxide.
○ Toxic metals: lead, mercury, nickel, arsenic.
■ Absorbed by plants or trapped in sediment in coal formation.
○ Soot: partially combusted, also known as particulate matter for air pollution. PM
carries many metals and heavier elements into lungs.
● Sulfur levels are higher in marine fossil fuels.
○ Filters and scrubbers, hydrostatic precipitators can reduce SO2 emissions.
○ Clean coal processing (cleans coal before burned to remove sulfur) can also
reduce SO2 emissions.
○ Crude oil (petroleum) also has sulfur, so diesel has lots of sulfur.
■ The EPA regulates diesel fuel sulfur levels.
● Plant matter determines the chemistry of fossil fuels.
○ Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur (CHONS).
○ Major biogeochemical cycles from unit 1.
● When fossil fuels are burned, source material, or CHONS chemicals, are released and
create primary pollutants.
○ Primary pollutants interact in air to make secondary pollutants.
● CHONS are in fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are combusted, they are released in air and
interact with each other, but usually oxygen, to create primary pollutants.
● NOx in air can interact and create secondary pollutants:
● Air pollution: must be in atmosphere, and harmful to humans or environment.
● Atmospheric pollution can be natural or anthropogenic.
● Primary pollutant: emitted directly into atmosphere.
○ Natural: pollen, volcanic ash, VOCs given off by plants.
○ Anthropogenic: products of combustion of fossil fuels (CO2, NOx, SO2).
● Secondary pollutants: form once primary pollutants are in the atmosphere and interact
with other atmospheric gases, each other, or presence in sunlight (UV radiation can
break down elements). This forms new molecules, or pollutants.
○ Usually by combining water vapor or other atmospheric gases, with energy from
sun.
○ Example: Tropospheric ozone (bad, ground level ozone), acid rain
■ Stratospheric ozone is good, not a pollutant.
● EPA made Clean AIr Act first, followed by National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) under this act for six criteria pollutants deemed most harmful to human health.
Remember SPLONC.
○ Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
○ Particulate matter (PM)
○ Lead (Pb)
○ Ozone (O3)
○ Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
○ Carbon monoxide (CO)
● Lead was used as gasoline additive in 1920s.
● In 1960s, health impacts of lead were studied.
● Low level lead exposure can cause anemia, behavioral disorders, lowered IQ, reading
and learning disabilities, and nerve damage in children.
○ In adults, can cause hypertension, cardiovascular disease.
● Almost every country has unleaded gas, causing huge reduction and decline in lead
levels in childrens’ blood and in atmospheric lead. Decline after SPLONC.
● Combustion of fossil fuels releases energy stored during photosynthesis (glucose,
C6H12O6 is storing potential energy).
○ Fossil fuels are burned to get energy out.
○ All fossil fuels contain carbon and hydrogen.
, ○ Combustion of carbon creates CO2.
○ Order of cycle: Carbon from atmosphere, into plants, into glucose, into fossil
fuels, burned/combusted millions of years later and becoming CO2.
■ Carbon has not been in the atmosphere for millions of years.
○ Coal has other elements absorbed by plants during life, or trapped in sediment
with organic material over time when becoming fossil fuel.
■ Impurities make it a dirty fuel, and are released during combustion.
■ Specific impurity elements vary by region.
● Formation of coal:
○ Plant matter over time with heat and pressure becomes compacted (peat), and
becomes lignite, bituminous, and anthracite.
○ Impurities decrease over time due to increasing heat and pressure.
● Impurities in coal released during combustion:
○ Sulfur: is part of rock cycle process, which is why so much is in coal.
■ Most sulfur is from marine biomass.
■ Sulfur dioxide.
○ Toxic metals: lead, mercury, nickel, arsenic.
■ Absorbed by plants or trapped in sediment in coal formation.
○ Soot: partially combusted, also known as particulate matter for air pollution. PM
carries many metals and heavier elements into lungs.
● Sulfur levels are higher in marine fossil fuels.
○ Filters and scrubbers, hydrostatic precipitators can reduce SO2 emissions.
○ Clean coal processing (cleans coal before burned to remove sulfur) can also
reduce SO2 emissions.
○ Crude oil (petroleum) also has sulfur, so diesel has lots of sulfur.
■ The EPA regulates diesel fuel sulfur levels.
● Plant matter determines the chemistry of fossil fuels.
○ Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur (CHONS).
○ Major biogeochemical cycles from unit 1.
● When fossil fuels are burned, source material, or CHONS chemicals, are released and
create primary pollutants.
○ Primary pollutants interact in air to make secondary pollutants.
● CHONS are in fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are combusted, they are released in air and
interact with each other, but usually oxygen, to create primary pollutants.
● NOx in air can interact and create secondary pollutants:
