The Effects of Air Pollution

By Keely-Shay Reid
For Mrs. Cooper
Science Proect
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
Topic" Air Pollution and its Effects on the
En#iron$ent
%efinition of air pollution
Air pollution occurs when the air contains gases, dust,
fumes or odour in harmful amounts.

That is, amounts which could be harmful to the health or
comfort of humans and animals or which could cause damage
to plants and materials.
The substances that cause air pollution are called
pollutants.
Pollutants that are pumped into our atmosphere and directly
pollute the air are called primary pollutants.
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
Examples of Primary pollutants include: -
a. carbon monoxide from car exhausts and
b. sulfur dioxide from the combustion of coal.
'istorical e(planation
In the days before the proliferation of large cities and
industry, natures own systems !ept the air fairly clean.
"ind mixed and dispersed the gases, rain washed the dust
and other easily dissol#ed substances to the ground and
plants absorbed carbon dioxide and replaced it with oxygen.

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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
'o* +hy
A cloud of smo!e from the
exhaust of a #ehicle
Increasing traffic
$mo!e from a factory
chimney
%rowing cities
&urning lea#es Apathetic people
"ith increasing urbanisation and industrialisation, humans
started to release more wastes into the atmosphere than
nature could cope with.
Air pollutants mainly occur as a result of gaseous
discharges from industry and motor #ehicles.
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid

'ig. ( ) 'actory Exhaust 'ig. * ) +rban ,ity 'ig. - ) ,ars, Traffic Exhaust
There are also natural sources such as wind-blown dust and
smo!e from fires.

'ig.. ) "ind &lown /ust 'ig. 0 ) $mo!e from 1and 'ires
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
'ig. 2 - 3i#erton ,ity /ump on 'ire, 4amaica ".I.
The 3i#erton ,ity /ump in 4amaica "I was recently set on fire by
un!nown sources. A wide range of air pollutants resulted when the
3i#erton ,ity /ump burned ) dust and dirt particulates, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides to name a few.
- The 4amaica 5bser#er, 6arch *7, *7(. reported:
89ealth impacts of the air pollution from the 3i#erton ,ity /ump
fires: increased the ris! of death among elderly and those with
pre-existing respiratory and cardiac illnesses, infant mortality, low
birth weight of babies, onset of childhood asthma, coughs,
whee:ing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, burning in eyes,
nose and throat, di::iness, wea!ness, confusion, nausea,
disorientation, exposure to !nown carcinogens. The seriousness of
these depends on how close people were to the fire.;
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
$ome forms of air pollution create global problems, such as
upper atmosphere o:one depletion and global warming.
9ere are examples of common air pollutants.

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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
'ig. <-$ix ,ommon Air Pollutants
$ome E(a$ples of ,ommon Air Pollutants
are:
,arbon 6onoxide
=itrogen > $ulphur /ioxide
Particulate 6atter
1ead
%round 1e#el 5:one
9ere are $ome of the En#iron$ental
Effects of Air Pollution
5:one layer depletion
+hat is 01one %epletion2
5:one layer depletion, is simply the wearing out
?reduction@ of the amount of o:one in the stratosphere.
+nli!e pollution, which has many types and causes,
5:one depletion has been pinned down to one maAor
human acti#ity.
Industries that manufacture things like insulating foams, solvents, soaps, cooling things
like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators and Take-Away containers use something called
chlorofluorocarons !C"Cs#$ These sustances are heavier than air, ut over time, !%-
&years# they are carried high into the stratosphere y wind action$
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
'epletion egins when C"Cs get into the stratosphere$ (ltra violet radiation from the
sun reaks up these C"Cs$ The reaking up action releases Chlorine atoms$ Chlorine
atoms react with )*one, starting a chemical cycle that destroys the good o*one in that
area$ )ne chlorine atom can reak apart more than +,,,,,, o*one molecules$
'ig. < ) 5:one 1ayer /epletion ,ycle
Acid 3ain
+hat is Acid Rain2
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
'ig. B ) Acid 3ain ,ycle
&ecause of pollution in the air, acid gases from
factories, cars and homes, the rain is becoming
dangerous for the life of e#ery li#ing creature. This
rain is !nown as 5acid rain5.
Acid gases are produced when fossil fuels li!e coal and
oil are burned in power stations, factories and in our
own homes. 6ost of these acid gases are blown into the
s!y, and when they mix with the clouds it can cause rain
- or snow, sleet, fog, mist or hail - to become more
acidic.
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
"hen rain is acidic, it affects what it falls on: trees,
la!es, buildings and farmland. $ometimes rain is not
#ery acidic and does not cause a lot of problems, but
when it is acidic, it can be #ery harmful to the
en#ironment.
Su$$ari1ed Effects of Air Pollution
9ealth problems
/amage to the en#ironment
/amage to property
Thinning of the protecti#e o:one layer of the
atmosphere which is leading to climate changes
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid
Encourage your family to wal! more
Ta!e the school bus
3educe the amount of spray bottles used
/o not burn lea#es in your yard- put them in a compost
Ceep your family cars in tune so that they donDt smo!e.
+se battery operated cars.
$hare your room with others when the air conditioner
is on. Turn off A, when you lea#e the room.
Ta!e care of our trees.
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The Effects of Air Pollution Keely-Shay Reid