Type of pollution air

1. Pollutants
Responsible agents of pollution is called pollutants.

2. Pollutants
Primary pollutants: Chemicals or substances emitted
directly into the air are primary pollutants.
Secondary pollutants: If these pollutants react with
other substances in the air and form a new compound
they are called secondary pollutants

3. Pollution
Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants.
The U.S., Russia, Mexico, China and Japan are the world
leaders in air pollution emissions;

4. Types of pollution
air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the
atmosphere. Common examples include carbon monoxide,
sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides
produced by industry and motor vehicles. Ozone and smog are
created as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons react to sunlight.
water pollution via surface runoff and leaching to groundwater.
Soil contamination occurs when chemicals are released by spill
or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most
significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals,
MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

5. Types of pollution
radioactive contamination, added in the wake of 20th-
century discoveries in atomic physics. (See alpha emitters
and actinides in the environment.)
noise pollution, which encompasses roadway noise,
aircraft noise, industrial noise as well as high-intensity
sonar.
light pollution, includes light trespass, over-illumination
and astronomical interference.
visual pollution, which can refer to the presence of
overhead power lines, motorway billboards, scarred
landforms (as from strip mining), open storage of junk or
municipal solid waste.

6. Air Pollution
The air pollution may be defined as qualitative and
quantitative changes in the atmospheric constituents
due to addition or contamination of such substances
as may be harmful to man and his environment.
Fresh air composition:
N2
O2
CO2
Others
79%
20.94%
0.032%
0.028%

7. Air pollution category
Air pollution may be categorized in to indoor and out
door pollutions:
In door Pollution: Pollution of atmosphere inside
building, offices and residences is called indoor air
pollution. eg. CO2 from metabolic activities of living
organisms, and combustion of fuels.
Out door pollution: Atmospheric pollution in the open
space is referred to as outdoor air pollution. eg Lead
from Automobiles and industrial emission, Ozone
from photochemical reactions in atmosphere etc.

8. Cause of Air Pollution
Atmospheric pollution is increasing due to the
following major factors:
Over population and increasing urbanization.
Increasing traffic
Industrialization and energy consumption

9. Over population and
Urbanization:
According to current estimates, the world population is
increasing at an average by two per cent annually which
means the addition of about one million people every five
days or five people every couple of seconds.
Increases in population would demand more food, water and
land, the three items that are limited on the earth. This
has resulted in disturbance in ecological balance,
disruption of natural biogeochemical cycles and fast
depletion of natural resources

10. Over population and
Urbanization:
Growing population created problems of employment. This
leads people to move from villages to urban areas in
search of employment, comfort and facilities. As a result,
the cities are expanding in area and are being thickly
populated.
Thickly populated areas face a variety of problems such as
congestion, large number of vehicles and its dust and
smoke, accumulation of solid and liquid wastes, poor
sanitation and management problems.

11. Increasing Traffic:
Rapid increase in the number of automobiles in one of
the potential factors responsible for air pollution in
urban areas. The vehicles on road are mobile
sources of air pollution.
Combustion of fuel in aircraft engines produces
hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide,
small amount of particulate matter, and sulphur
oxides.
Amounts of pollutants depend upon the fuel used, type
of aircraft engine etc.

12. Industrial Growth and Energy
Consumption
Fossil fuel burning. eg. Burning of coal, oil, gas in
different industries .
Decomposition. eg. Natural decomposition, biogas
plant, waste deposition of a city etc.
Industrial activities. eg. oil refineries, brick field,
stone crushing etc.

13. Industrial Growth and Energy
Consumption
Industries are producing a variety of toxic substances.
 Brick field, stone crushing sector and oil refineries
are releasing tremendous amount of fly ash and many
toxic gases in to the atmosphere.
Domestic burning, agricultural refuse.
firewood and dry dung burning are also contributing
considerable amounts of pollutants to atmosphere.

14. Effects of air pollution
Human beings breathe 14 kg of air into their lungs
each day. Although some of the symptoms of
pollution that people suffer involve the moist surfaces
of the eyes, nose, and throat, the major site of impact
is the lungs.

15. Effects of air pollution
Three categories of impact can be distinguished:
a) Chronic: Pollution cause the gradual
deterioration of a variety of physiological functions
over a period of years.
b) Acute: Pollutants bring on life-threatening
reactions within a period of hours or days.
c) Carcinogenic: Pollutants initiate changes
within cells that lead to uncontrolled growth and
division (cancer).

16. Effects of air pollution
There are lots of air pollutants caused different
physiological problem to the human beings, such as:
 Long
term exposure to sulphur dioxide, SO2 can lead
to bronchitis.
 Chronic
inhalation of ozone and particulates can
cause inflammation and ultimately fibrosis of the
lungs.
 Some
of the air pollutant or sometimes smell of
perfume may cause inflammation to the person those
have Asthma.

17. Effects of air pollution
 Carbon
monoxide (CO) reduces the capacity of the
blood to carry oxygen, and extended low levels of
carbon monoxide can contribute to heart disease.
 Chronic
exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO) is known
to impair the immune system, leaving the lungs open
to attack by bacteria and viruses (Pfafflin & Ziegler
1992, Miller 1997).

18. Effects of air pollution
Air pollution may also cause problem to the
atmosphere, such as Acid Rain.
Acid Rain: When the pH of rain water or snow is less
than 5.7 it is called Acid rain. Acid rain is manmade ecological event. It is mainly due to sulfuric
acid and nitric acid.

19. Effects of air pollution (Acid Rain)
Formation of acid rain: Acid rain may form from Sulfur
mono or dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide etc. For an
example: Action of sulfur dioxide leading to acid rain.
It is formed in two steps:
Conversion of sulfur dioxide in to sulfur trioxide by
absorption of UV radiation
Reaction of secondary pollutant sulfur trioxide with
moisture to form sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid
dissolved in rain drops falls on the earth surface
as acid rains.

20. 2. Action of nitrogen dioxide leading acid rain: Nitrogen
dioxide acts to produce acid rain in two steps:
 Formation of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen
peroxide by absorption of UV radiation from the
sun.
 Reaction of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen peroxide
with atmospheric moisture to form nitric acid
which falls down as acid rain.

21. Effects of acid rain:
Acid rain causes irritation in the eyes and skin of human
beings.
It may cause corrosion of many buildings, bridges and
monuments, railings, fencings etc.
It affects on the enzymatic activities of living being.
Acid rains change the pH of soils and affect the plant
growth in various ways.
It inhibits carbon dioxide fixation and photorespiration
and adversely affects the productivity of crops.

22. Acid rain and a Monument
The Taj Mahal of Agra is also facing danger from the acid
rain because of oil refinery situated at Mathura very
close to Agra. This refinery emits smoke and gaseous
pollutants including sulfur dioxide. If the sulfur
dioxide levels in air increases the resulting acidic
precipitation may react with marbles and cause pitting
in this wonderful monument that attracts people from
all over the world.

24. Control of Air pollution
What can we
DO ?

25. Control of Air pollution
1. Automobiles must be either made to eliminate use
of gasoline and diesel oil or complete combustion is
obtained in the engine so that noxious compounds
are not emitted. The automobiles, trucks and other
transport systems must have an antismog device to
minimize pollution.
2. Aforestation, Reforestation
3. Excessive and undesirable burning of vegetation
should be stopped.

26. Control of Air pollution
4. Smoking should be stopped (there is 5,00000
tones tobacco pollution annually).
5. Proper attention should be given by the
government and general to make people realize
the implications of environmental problem.
6. Legislation should be passed against pollution.
7. Environmental education is the best programme
to deal with the environmental problems