Air Pollution

Air Pollution • Any contamination of the air

• Can be caused by humans or nature

Primary Pollutants • Pollution that is put directly into the air

• Examples: – Car exhaust– Factory waste– Volcanic ash

Secondary Pollutants • Created when primary pollutants mix with water or sunlight

• Examples– Acid rain– Smog

Human caused air pollution

• Industrial– Factories,

manufacturing, power company

• Indoor– Cleaners, heaters,

insulation, carpeting, furniture

Acid Rain • water that has been mixed with primary pollutants in the air, then rains down

Effects of Acid Rain • Soil– Washes away the good

parts of soil, leaving more acidic materials behind

• Plants– Can destroy large regions,

plant growth altered or destroyed

• Waterways– Increased acid in water

causing Acid Shock of plants and animals living in or by water

Effects of Air Pollution

on People• Lung cancer• Asthma• Heart disease• Irritation of eyes,

nose, throat

Cleaning Up the Air • Clean Air Act

– Law that limits amounts of pollution allowed

• EPA

– Environmental Protection Agency

– Part of government to oversee laws on pollution

• Scrubbers

– Remove pollution before it is released back into environment

• Lifestyle changes

– Walk, cleaner fuel, carpool

China16 of the worst 20 air polluted cities in the world are in China.

Iran Russia

• Why are the majority of most polluted cities in the USA near the coastline?