Air and Atmosphere

carbon monoxide

sources

incomplete combustion of carbon containing substances (eg. charcoal, wood and petrol)

(man made)petrol vehicles which are not fitted with a Catalytic converter

(man made) power stations and waste incinerators

(natural) volcanoes and bush fires

effects

human impact

can cause breathing difficulties and even death because it prevents transport of oxygen in blood around the body

environmental impact

reacts with other pollutants in the air to create potentially harmful ground level ozone (does not have significant environmental effects at global level)

preventive measures

use other modes of transport (eg cycling, walking or public transport)

get a fuel efficient car (hybrid/electric car)

maintain properly inflated tyres

do not heat homes using charcoal/gas oven

do not speed / accelerate unnecessarily (as it increases milage by up to 33%)

ozone

sources

effects

reaction of nitrogen oxides and unburnt hydrocarbons in the presence of sunlight

emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants

environmental impact

Affects sensitive vegetation and ecosystems (including forests, parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas)

human impact

Breathing ozone can trigger chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and airway inflammation etc

Can reduce lung function and harm lung tissue

Can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma

preventive measures

forms photochemical smog (irritates the eye and lungs)

reduce the emission of ozone from motocycles

introduce limits for carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission for in-use petrol vehicles


methane

sources

decay of plant and animal matter

common in landfills, marshes, septic systems, sewers, wetlands

found both below ground and under the seafloor, and is formed by both geological and biological processes

rice agriculture (home for methane producing microbes)

emissions from oil, coal and natural gas

deforestation and natural fires

effects

preventive measures

environmental impact

greenhouse gas which causes global warming

extremely effective at trapping heat, and even a little more methane in the atmosphere can have big impacts on how quickly the planet warms

human impacts

At extremely high (artificial) concentrations in an enclosed space the reduction in oxygen levels could lead to suffocation

high "global warming potential" is 28x that of carbon dioxide, ranking it amongst the worst of the greenhouse gases

More people going vegan and eating less meat to reduce demand for livestock (farmers will not raise as much livestock so less methane gas is produced)

reduce decomposition in waste at landfills

reducing food wastage (microbes will have less organic matter to feed on, thus producing less methane gas)


regulate methane emissions of gas companies

reduce coal mining

sulfur dioxide

sources

combustion of fossil fuels in motor vehicles, power stations and factories

volcanic eruptions

effects

human impact

irritate the eye and the lungs and cause breathing difficulties (causes coughing, mucus secretion and aggravates conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis)

environmental impact

react with water in the atmosphere to form acid rain, which corrodes buildings and harms aquatic life and plants

industrial activity that processes materials that contain sulfur

causes deforestation (it may weaken trees by damaging their leaves, limiting nutrients uptake, or poisoning them with toxic substances released from the soil)

preventive measures

use coal that contains less sulfur

power plant can also install equipment called scrubbers (remove the sulfur dioxide from gases leaving the smokestack)

use renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power

nitrogen oxides

sources

vehicle exhaust fumes

chemical plants

lightning activity

processes involving the burning of fuel

Can be produced by natural processes like microbial processes in soil (minimally)

effects

environmental impacts

react with water in the atmosphere to form acid rain, which corrodes buildings and harms aquatic life and plants

Contributing factor to photochemical smog

NO2 produces ground-level ozone (from sunlight) which is another pollutant

human impacts

irritate the eye and the lungs and cause breathing difficulties (Chronic lung disease, Exacerbate asthma)

Hydrolyzes into Nitric Acid → inflames lungs, reduce immunity

preventive measures

installing air pollution control equipment (eg selective non-catalytic reduction or selective catalytic reduction)

exhaust gas recirculation (exhaust gases fed back into the engine, dilute O2 concentration & inert gases to absorb combustion heat, reducing temperature)

unburnt hyfrocarbons

sources

vehicle exhast fumes

chemical plants

effects

environmental impact

react with sunlight and other pollutants (eg nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide) to form ozone, a main component of photochemical smog

human impact

causes cancer (Hydrocarbons like Benzene which is toxic and carcinogen can disrupt healthy cell growth in humans)

incomplete burning of petroleum, oil refineries and oil fuel power station

emitted through burning of petroleum in an engine

preventive measures

addition of catalytic converter to exhaust system