Air and Noise Pollution Flashcards
Are chemicals or energy (such as light or heat) in the environment that might be hazardous to people, animals, or plants
Pollution
Common Sources of Air Pollution
Household combustion devices, Motor vehicles, Industrial facilities, Forest fires
Types of Air Pollutant Sources
Primary Pollutants, Secondary Pollutants
Examples of Primary Pollutants
Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Monoxide, Volatile Organic Compounds, Sulfur Oxides, Particulate Matter, Ozone
Often brown in color and are released by both industrial and vehicular sources, including power plants, boilers, cement kilns, and turbines
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
A gas that forms from the incomplete combustion of fuels such as propane, natural gas, gasoline, oil, coal, or wood
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Organic molecules -specifically hydrocarbons -that are classified as a pollutant as they produce undesirable effects in the atmosphere
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
A term that refers to a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets that can be found in the air
Particulate Matter (PM)
Sometimes called as smog or ground level ozone
Ozone
A reactive oxidant gas produced naturally in trace amounts in Earth’s atmosphere
Ozone
Examples of Secondary Pollutants
Nitrogen Dioxide, Acid Rain
When you ride in a car or truck, your exhaust
leaks nitrogen oxides.
When those nitrogen oxides go in the air,
they mix with oxygen
creating a new
compound called
Nitrogen Dioxide
When factories release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, the
chemicals react with
water and oxygen in
the air to create nitric and sulfuric acids
Acid Rain
How do air pollutants affect our health?
Worsen lung and heart diseases
Impacts of Air Pollutants
Acid Rain, Eutrophication, Haze, Effects on Wildlife, Crop and Forest Damage, Ozone Depletion, Global Climate Change
