Chapter 19-Atmospheric Pollution Flashcards
Microscopic liquid and solid particles such as dust, carbon particles, pollen, sea salts, and microorganisms originating primarily from land and water surfaces and carried up into the atmosphere
Aerosols
Substances in the atmosphere that have harmful effects
Air pollutants
Include volcanoes, fires, and dust storms that send smoke, gases, and particles into the atmosphere
Natural air pollutants
Human-caused air pollutants that come from emissions from industrial plants, coal-burning power plants, and automobiles
Anthropogenic
A natural cleanser that oxidizes many gaseous pollutants to products that are harmless or that can be brought down to the ground or water by precipitation
Hydroxyl group (OH)
The combination of smoke and fog
Smog
An irritating, grayish mixture of soot, sulfurous compounds, and water vapor found near industries (especially where coal is the primary energy source) ex: found near cities of China, India, Korea, and Eastern European countries
Industrial smog
A brownish, irritating haze that is found in places where it is warm and sunny (ex: Los Angeles)
Photochemical smog
Direct products of combustion and evaporation
Primary pollutants
Primary pollutants that have undergone further reactions in the atmosphere and produce additional undesirable compounds; the leading pollutants consists of ozone, peroxyacetyl nitrates (PANs), sulfuric acid, and nitric acid
Secondary pollutants
Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels produces various unburned fragments of fuel molecules
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
A heavy metal, was added to gasoline as an inexpensive way to prevent engine knock
Lead
Produced by the spontaneous decay of fissionable material in rocks and soils (radium and uranium); it is an invisible and radioactive gas that can accumulate inside homes
Radon
Because sunlight provides the energy necessary to propel the reactions, these products are known collectively as
Photochemical oxidants
