GoConqr has a new look! Let us know what you think.

Sign up free

Flashcards

Air pollution

Anna Hollywood BIOLOGY DEGREE LEVEL English 64 cards

Cards in this deck (64)

  1. 1How many premature deaths a year is air pollution thought to be linked with a year globally?7 million
  2. 2What percentage of these are due to outdoor pollution and what percentage are due to indoor pollution?50% and 50%
  3. 3How much does air pollution cost the UK economy every year in damage to human health (not including the cost of damage to the environment and crops)? What is the citation for this?£15 billion (NERC, 2013)
  4. 4Where did we first come to see pollution as a problem?Photochemical smog e.g. Los Angeles since mid-1940s; breathing problems and poor visibility; chemical transformation of vehicular pollution
  5. 5What sort of pollution was prevalent in London until the 1950s? What did this cause and what was it a consequence of?Sulphurous smog; very poor visibility and increased mortality; consequence of coal burning
  6. 6When was the first smoke nuisance abatement act?1853 (smoke was considered a minor side effect of prosperity)
  7. 7What sort of pollution was created by the development of the industrial and economic sectors?Soot (which blackened buildings)
  8. 8What are the 2 categories of air pollutants? What are the sub-categories within these?Gases and particles; both can be split into primary and secondary production; both of these can then be split further into natural and anthropogenic sources
  9. 9Why do pollutants have different lifetimes and different impacts?Because they have different chemical and physical properties
  10. 10What are the 5 major air pollutants?Nitrogen dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter
  11. 11What is nitrogen dioxide generated by and what does it lead to the production of?Generated by combustion sources (vehicles, energy production), and leads to ozone production and acid rain
  12. 12What is ozone generated by and what impacts does it have?Generated in the atmosphere by reaction of other pollutants; strong oxidant with impacts on human health and vegetation/crop growth
  13. 13What is carbon monoxide the product of and what does it lead to the formation of?Product of incomplete combustion, is poisonous and leads to ozone formation
  14. 14What is sulphur dioxide generated by and what does it lead to?Generated by combustion of fossil fuels (especially coal); leads to acid rain
  15. 15What are some examples of PM and what does it affect/cause?Dust, pollen, smoke, soot, water drops; affects visibility, clouds and the climate; causes lung damage
  16. 16What are 4 other important pollutants?Heavy metals, toxic organics, radioisotopes and greenhouse gases
  17. 17HEAVY METALS: Condensed ....... from ....... additives and ........; impacts on ...... ....... ........ e.g. ....., .....Vapours; fuel; industry; central nervous system; Pb; Hg
  18. 18Give some examples of toxic organics and what are they thought to be?Pesticides, herbicides, fuel additives; many are suspected carcinogens e.g. C6H6, DDT
  19. 19What are radioisotopes and give some examplesGases and particles formed by natural radioactive decay or nuclear testing e.g. 222Rn, 131I, 137Cs
  20. 20What are greenhouse gases and give some examplesLong-lived gases contributing to global warming e.g. CO2, CH4, N2O, CFCs
  21. 21How is combustion in practice different to combustion in theory?In practice impurities and additives also appear in the fuel and other gases (other than oxygen) will react creating by-products such as NO2, SO2, Pb, PM and soot
  22. 22What are the 4 major anthropogenic sources of pollution?Combustion, fuel evaporation, exhaust fumes and livestock
  23. 23What are the 4 natural sources of pollution?Volcanoes, lightning, forest fires and livestock
  24. 24Where are hotspots in the UK for NO2 emissions? Where are the hotspots for ammonia emissions?NO2 - around roads
    NH3 - in agricultural areas
  25. 25What are the things that we need to understand in order to grasp the life cycle of an air pollutant?Chemical and physical properties of the pollutant; atmospheric processing and transport of the pollutant; impacts of the pollutant and its removal from the atmosphere
  26. 26Give an example of a pollutant with a very short lifetime (minutes); a short lifetime (hours); a medium lifetime (days); a long lifetime (months); a very long lifetime (years)Minutes - reactive chemicals
    Hours - NO2, large PM
    Days - HNO3, 131I, small PM
    Months - CO, O3
    Years - CH4, CO2
  27. 27What are there relative ranges of transport/distribution?Minutes - impacts very close to the source
    Hours - urban-scale transport
    Days - regional transport
    Months - hemispheric transport
    Years - global transport
  28. 28IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION: Human health: - Toxic effects following ....... - Short-term vs. long-term effects - Indirect effects on the quality of ......Inhalation; life
  29. 29CONTINUED: Acid rain: - Acidification of ....... and ........ - Damaged ........ of plants and trees - Erosion of .........Lakes; soils; growth; stonework
  30. 30CONTINUED: Plant damage: - Direct ...... damage by ....... - Reduced agricultural ........ ........Leaf; oxidation; crop yields
  31. 31What are some of the sources of indoor air pollution?MAJOR - cooking, heating, lighting, smoking
    ALSO - furniture, paints, varnishes, solvents, 222Rn
  32. 32How can we measure air pollution?By having machines that take automatic measurements based on chemical and physical behaviour (O3, NO2, CO, SO2, PM10); this gets converted to an air pollution index which is different in different countries
  33. 33What are the different bands associated with the air pollution index for the UK and what are their health descriptors?Low (1,2 or 3) - effects largely unnoticed
    Moderate (4, 5 or 6) - mild effects, noticed by sensitive individuals
    High (7, 8 or 9) - significant effects on significant individuals; action to avoid or reduce effects needed
    Very high (10) - worse effects expected
  34. 34What do the policies to control air pollution need to focus on in particular?Limiting emissions, enforcing standards and urban/transport planning
  35. 35What have been some of the major national and international laws created around air pollution?National:
    Clean Air Act (1956, UK)
    Clean Air Act (1963, US)
    International:
    Gothenberg Protocol (1999)
  36. 36What sort of technologies have been created to control air pollution?Catalytic converters, scrubbers and using cleaner fuels
  37. 37What has been the major change in UK air pollution (especially in the cities like London)?A change from sulphurous smog to photochemical smog
  38. 38What did the Commons Select Committee state in their report on 14th November 2011?That 4000 people died as a result of the Great Smog of London in 1952 which lead to the Clean Air Act (1956); in 2008, 4000 died in London and 30,000 died across the whole of the UK due to air pollution so something needs to be done again
  39. 39What is photochemical smog mainly caused by?Cars
  40. 40What is smog a cross between?Smoke and fog
  41. 41What is the citation for these next lot of flashcards?(DEFRA, ND)
  42. 42When was photochemical smog first properly seen as a problem and what is it created by?Summertime in the 1990s; it is caused by chemical reactions between motor vehicle pollutants and sunlight
  43. 43What changes are being made in the transport sector to reduce pollution?Catalytic converters and tighter MOT emissions tests
  44. 44What changes are being made in land use planning?Building public attractions near to public transport
  45. 45What are they trying to encourage?Pedestrians and cyclists
  46. 46What changes are being made in public transport?Making it cheaper; good facilities at the transport stations; upgrading local networks; extending transport networks
  47. 47What changes are being made in traffic restraints?Traffic calming (e.g. road bumps); parking policies (e.g. short-stay parking); road pricing; traffic-free areas (e.g. Amsterdam); planned congestion (e.g. rush hour)
  48. 48What does sulfur dioxide do to human health?Causes chronic bronchitis and affects asthmatics
  49. 49How does carbon monoxide affect people?Reduces the blood's capacity to hold oxygen; worsens emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other lung diseases
  50. 50What effects does nitrogen dioxide have on human health?Alters lung function and causes lung tissue damage; young children and asthmatics most at risk
  51. 51What effects does ozone have on people's health?Causes permanent lung disease, chest discomfort, coughing and headaches
  52. 52What problems does benzene cause in terms of health?Cancer, anaemia and injury to bone marrow
  53. 53LeadMental retardation; drowsiness; problems with kidneys and reproductive system
  54. 54Particulate matterAcute respiratory disorders and linked to premature death
  55. 55Volatile organic compoundsCancer
  56. 56What is the citation for the following set of flashcards about the Great London Smog?(Enviropedia, ND)
  57. 57What increased in the 19th century which caused an increase in air pollution?Increase in industrialization
  58. 58What caused the smog to stagnate?Low wind speeds
  59. 59What happened in the early 20th century?Tighter industrial controls and declining importance of coal as domestic fuel = reduced smog pollution
  60. 60What happened on December 4th 1952?An anticyclone set over London
  61. 61What did this cause to happen and how long did it last for?Caused wind to drop and increased humidity; smog lasted for 5 days
  62. 62How many more deaths occurred than usual?4000
  63. 63How many folds did sulfur dioxide increase by? What about smoke?Sulfur dioxide - 7-fold
    Smoke - 3-fold
  64. 64What did the Great London Smog lead to?The Clean Air Act 1956

Information

Description
BIOLOGY DEGREE LEVEL (LEC101) Flashcards on Air pollution, created by Anna Hollywood on 28/05/2017.
Created by
Anna Hollywood
Views
0
Rating

Feedback

What is it about?

What do you think of the new look?

How do you like it?