Chapter 25. Chapter 25: Air Pollution

What is air pollution and what is its global impact?

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Guiding Question 25.2

What are the main types and sources of outdoor air pollution? What are the common types of air pollutants regulated by the EPA?

Why You Should Care

Air pollution comes in many forms: gases like carbon monoxide (CO), liquids like sulfur dioxide droplets (SO2), and solids like particulates (PM). Most of these air pollutants are chemically reactive and create or speed reactions with other pollutants to create new types of pollutants (called secondary air pollutants). Also, most of these air pollutants can be produced by either natural or anthropogenic sources. Today, most of the air pollution comes from anthropogenic sources and concentrates in areas with significant agriculture, industry, or transportation.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the branch of the federal government that regulates air pollution levels. Using laws like the Clean Air Act of 1970 and its later amendments, the EPA monitors levels of criteria air pollutants that affect humans and ecosystems and other pollutants that have long-term effects (like mercury from burning coal).

Question Test Your Vocabulary

Choose the correct term for each of the following definitions:

Term Definition
IfvV1nuLYowZtgs2FdUxIuDV3+At+SuIjJVnun8Fp3bot7PyRo3NXiuQQji1F8IHDmOzGHo6jLRouwyXlIG0+YHxMViyrZLNAaF38ZYlEXWwxHzmdcbJAh5wL1EMgVkBYQycyKsMuGSJJpzstMmXgIIdf2nyQxsHTckRuWbijDMGMz2cNU9uGH4BOp9+jOPWVRJepznYgUlpMC2k Particles or droplets small enough to remain aloft in the air for long periods of time.
MoMOzQZWt/UfF4CvXP7NKohQkI78DZy8q4Zzkzcj/7hKJdu3NrME/SlOZZCGrIJlsXCOqujUVcEdfgL5hLuatSsDVdwsBM9DADA3tL99iP0Oc5crIVRt3lU/z3P6VMntxhfK86pxFGEBBKbj3qGgzz7XQJEAaJ2HB1gLYNw6ss0QWiEnPw2SjNoCzp2SjW6p6VQpqCAf0Ds8hlF7 Pollution that enters the air from dispersed or mobile sources.
XnZ1jsoq0vsa7Vq13HbRIhUcN1GPaefEXw1dHsaKHioiJUgKJubMtP2FJ6oPJcqskgWoyVTugYO6y8PwEhwI145SzbgLVEO9dL1aYncl5Vv672uFjdaKn34XRULJGo6Im7ueYaikq+pE8Th0KibA/wL6c7pdYMSziVYTkx2nSr0l6vbK5+h77jIM3dSQCMcXWkrAQEpqHlvCn87Y Hazy air pollution that contains a variety of pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, tropospheric ozone, and particulates.
se4x18tjf9qNlgJyot1hAfhIdWhly5ebRZwewafzmNaf4UnrjQHBJKwXcn2E7HEJxxQGzltpxzA8tb8JiCoFjDT5VLIzH6UCeOfd56I9sXatjPFt8bLw4cTXl/z//dA8dFfJMxpUJ2pWhhfVG2jv2yDSeCaogmHPbsw9/DUA0O8Zq0CKveDoBC1ncFR3/BAfgCN9i44j6SgM8KLI Pollution that enters the air from a readily identifiable source such as a smokestack.
sYgiTCapqEwdYfcEvxyP1jDlP+y23RGMopNf3X39rbemPmDEzOf5cXmoj80emX/u/byjr8jOM5v4MxxTZEO62cNUGjLMSXjfQ54oDdnTU5Lu2NbxHBNC+rwVqQu7pZwLjyFA9pisWn3N58o0AHScIZoqxBJ10fYdJeqexdgfqNnJ9plKtNJ/4AiwCAKz0XRIieaFqqlnpRhhxJLj Air pollutants released directly from both mobile sources (such as cars) and stationary sources (such as industrial and power plants).
v0jAQw54PX2OtrD9DxbixBCGEkaZYyFABfNQNSFBs2Fvaz+R5yneBxQh6wkMCU7cLF4dd8EmWfOUkQOvvfqtuzqcPHs/6d3QN6vlgJpiHY5FlhILEmKNtgsvI81ajhg2qGut+Zk1m5gv9Epph/meb86R4yOaAX+AhO8XwA7U0aREz+6a6ZyK9p0A7tAkpsJZkYH8lnngvq1ijyln A secondary pollutant that forms when some of the polĀ­lutants released during fossil fuel combustion react with atmospheric oxygen in the presence of sunlight.
qcxZxhze2KmPQfhVLJFHhoya9T5XohaITr/7gzKXa9BFVcpVIU2Q07qZI7cwBDSJZTrmN5WKJyykSW35BdNDPczpldayZVu6zsiKoFjqwI9hMBOl6PwhcT9i4q7eK/ywR36PcDC1SXMbbn3ADBm1nnNrz6tbcIWA8T8H+fNHsqOe++a3Klapk92u3T8G0uhW45ucd+QhDswYuWEI Air pollutants formed when primary air pollutants react with one another or with other chemicals in the air.
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Question 25.1

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Question 25.2

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Question 25.3

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Question 25.4

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The prevailing winds can spread the pollutants, but they are mostly produced and react in the troposphere. Few of them make it high enough to reach the stratosphere.
Infographic 25.4

Question 25.5

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Question 25.6

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Question 25.7

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Question 25.8

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Question 25.9

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Carbon dioxide may not react to damage humans, animals, or plants, but it is a greenhouse gas that increases the temperature of the lowest part of the atmosphere (the troposphere). The increased levels of CO2 are suspected of causing the increasing global temperatures that scientists call climate change.