Pollution - Human Impact on the Environment - Lecture Slides, Slides of Geology

Download Pollution - Human Impact on the Environment - Lecture Slides and more Slides Geology in PDF only on Docsity! Air, Water, and Soil Pollution A meta-study conducted in 2007 by David Pimentel at Cornell University suggests that as many as 40% of all deaths worldwide are linked to soil, water, and air pollution. Air pollution from smoke and various chemicals kills 3 million people a year worldwide. In the United States alone about 3 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into the environment -- contributing to cancer, birth defects, immune system defects and many other serious health problems. Source: Pimentel, David. Cornell University. 2007. Docsity.com Water and Air Pollution Air Pollution / Photochemical Smog • Ground-level Ozone • Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) • Particulate Matter (ash, smoke, dust, pollen) Soil Contamination • Acid Deposition/Acid Rain • DDT • Heavy Metals Water Pollution • Minamata Disease (methylmercury contamination) – bioaccumulation • Eutrophication and Dead Zones (excess nitrogen) Docsity.com Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. High pressure Cooler air aloft Subsidence § 4 Air cooled by ocean > Ocean Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. igh pressure Cooler air aloft 4 § Subsidence § J Warm air inversion layer Stagnant ane layer Docsity.com Air pollution • A photochemical smog is the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles (called particulate matter) and ground-level ozone. • 3 million deaths worldwide Docsity.com Controlling Los Angeles Smog with Technology? Since smog was first recognized as a serious problem in 1947, inventors and engineers have proposed innovative ideas to get rid of it. • One was to connect all Los Angeles industries to a massive network of concrete exhaust pipes routed to the mountains where pollution could be released above the inversion layer. If it works for sewage, it will work for air pollution, thought the engineering firm that pioneered the "air sanitation system" concept. But the system would have required 89 miles of ductwork and the energy to move the large volumes of air would have been several times beyond what Hoover Dam could supply. Many other ideas surfaced in the 1950s and 1960s to purify, ventilate or wash the air over Los Angeles. • One was to cut holes in the mountains and install huge exhaust fans to blow smog out of the basin. However, blowing or washing away smog proved to be impractical since it involved a land mass of 1,600 square miles and over 200 million tons of air. The enormous energy requirements made the idea impossible. • One scientist suggested blackening whole sections of the eastern mountains so as to store heat and create thermal currents and westerly winds that would blow smog over the mountains Docsity.com Particulate matter • Source: incomplete burning of fuel • Respiratory problems • Short transport distance • Closest to source = most affected Docsity.com SOseRSRSSESROSROERESSSEARSEEEEROREOEEESSEROREEEEEE ERED 3 @ AR MONITORING STATION JUNE 1996 VERSION ~~ Federal ‘Standard NOT EXCEEDED = OVER 20 pg/m3 Figure 4 PM2.5 - 2006 Annual Arithmetic Mean, wg/m Source: AQMD, 2006 Docsity.com lS 330 30 370 390 410 49 250 470 499 510 at : SOD eT oy 3810 3730 40} 20} 19] 3770 fe 3730 3 3710 WEST & PETE TTT TTT TTT TTT PACIFIC ca Lovett put 10 20 50 60 SOUTH +e me & % a eee % & a, a Figure 5-3b. Model estimated risk for the Basin (without diesel sources). Source: AQMD Docsity.com Photochemial smog • Sources: incomplete burning of fuel • Nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, and sunlight • Forms ozone at ground level • Respiratory problems, damage to plants Docsity.com 160% 1405 ie a 1 8 2000 Population (in Millions} = Concentration (ppm) (4 Insufficient Data 277 O.0275-0.041 Mi 0-0.0275 Docsity.com 250 200 Basin-Days a 3 a S 50 Historic Smog Levels, Los Angeles South Coast Air Basin Smog Trend @ Days Over 1-Hour Federal Ozone Standard —— Peak Ozone Levels [eras per maton] 1955-1996 07 O6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 O41 0 55 58 61 64 G? 70 73 76 79 82 85 B88 91 94 Docsity.com How to Control Los Angeles Smog? • 1970 Clean Air Act (amended repeatedly until 1990) sets standards for 6 key pollutants. States then implement plans to comply. • Key elements in California have been automobile smog checks, more refined gasoline required statewide, smokestack scrubbers which catch particulate and oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. • New management plans call for increased use of cleaner solvents that release fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Dry cleaning, manufacturing, etc.. • Scrubbers use lime or ammonia to remove NOx and SOx • Catalytic converters on automobiles remove NOx Docsity.com Acid rain • Source: burning fossil fuels • Sulfur from coal becomes sulfuric acid • Terrestrial effects (forests, soils) • Aquatic effects (death of fish) • Material effects (buildings, monuments) Docsity.com Sources of Acid Depostion Sources of sulfer oxides (SOx) Sources of nitrogen oxides (NOx) Docsity.com or display. ion required for reproduction Inc. Permissi Companies, aw-Hill Copyright © The McGr Docsity.com i ipil in HE Present problem areas (including lakes and rivers) = i Death of fish Death of fish is the best known effect of acidification, and is therefore a reliable and frequently used indicator. There are two reasons for the death of fish. When the acidification reaches a certain level, the fry die. The most sensitive species are trout and salmon. Damage to vegetation Damage to vegetation and the dying of forests have long been associated with acid rain. The washing out of metal ions results in limited plant nutrients. Vegetation exposed to acid rain will therefore absorb less of these essential nutrients. The result is poorer quality of a plant’s proteins, stunted growth and exposure to diseases. Docsity.com