Lecture 5- Guest Lecture Flashcards
1
Q
What causes air pollution?
A
• Agriculture • Area sources (wood burning, snow blowing) o Commercial o Residential • Energy production • Industry • Transportation
2
Q
Name some air pollution remedies
A
- Alternative energy and conservation
- Planning (like transportation planning)
- Process changes
- Recycle
- Top of stack/end of the tail pipe
3
Q
Outcomes of air pollution to the environment?
A
- Ozone/smog
- Acid rain
- Upper atmosphere ozone depletion
- Aesthetic/visibility-regional haze
- Climate/greenhouse effect
- Accidental toxic releases
- Polluted air
4
Q
Name some outcomes of air pollution to health
A
- Respiratory symptoms and lung disease
- Cardiovascular effects including hypertension
- Central nervous system effects
- Organ damage
- Death
5
Q
Name some clean air programs
A
- Health-based
- Engineering/technical controls and economic considerations
- Stationary and mobile sources
- Monitoring and modeling activities
- Federal and state permit programs
- Economic incentives and emission trading
- Special topics- acid rain, global warming, catastrophic releases
6
Q
The air quality programs in the US are primarily _____-based
A
Health- based
7
Q
History of regulatory programs
A
- 1940s Truman initiatives
- Serious air pollution events (in Penn)
- 1970 Clean Air Act and 1977 Amendments
- Compliance numbers on what people will breathe
8
Q
1970 Clean Air Act and 1977 Amendments included
A
- National Ambient Air Quality Standards
- Criteria documents
- State Implementation Plans/ Nonattainment
- New Source Review (NSR)- Performance Standards
- Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
- Emission limitation
- Air toxics program
- Visibility
9
Q
What are the National Ambient Air Quality Standards based on?
A
Health (health studies)
10
Q
Name some 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments
A
- “Agency forcing” legislation
- New attainment deadlines and operating permits
- Comprehensive air toxics program
- Emergency releases program
- Acid/SO2 allowances/NOx reduction
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) phase out
- Mobile source control- Inspection and Maintenance
- Enforcement clout
11
Q
Name the post 1990 Amendments
A
- Emission trading
- Fine and ultrafine particulates
- Mercury cap
- Climate change and environmental sustainability
12
Q
Explain emission trading
A
- An allowance program: actually inventoried all the sources of SO2, so it had a very good handle on what in the US was being emitted
- Has taken on a more prominent role in air pollution control
13
Q
Explain mercury cap
A
- Very controversial until it got passed but very critical
- There were lots of other advantages in terms of other pollution being lowered because you had to lower other things to lower mercury
14
Q
What does the health based system consist of?
A
- National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
* Title 3 “Hazardous air pollutants”
15
Q
What pollutants do the NAAQS deal with?
A
• Individual pollutants (Carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), nitrogen dioxide (NOx),ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM) and PM2.5, and sulfur dioxide (SO2)).
16
Q
What is Title 3 (Hazardous air pollutants)?
A
- A list of toxic air pollutants regulated by industry categories
- Max achievable control tech (MACT) req’d with additional consideration of “residual risk” and “susceptible populations”
- National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS)
- Accidental release and hazardous air pollutants
17
Q
What is MACT?
A
- Max Achievable Control Technology
* If there exists technology that reduces that hazard (for said pollutant) you have to use that technology
18
Q
Name some hell Ozone can cause
A
- Wheezing, coughing, pain when taking a deep breathe, and difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities
- Coughing and sore or scratchy throat
- Inflammation and damage to the airways
- Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
- Increase the frequency of asthma attacks
- Make the lungs more susceptible to infection
- Continue to damage the lungs even when the symptoms have disappeared
19
Q
NO2
A
- Gauderman- Clearly indicted as an inducer of respiratory problems
- A precursor to ozone
20
Q
Name some hell NO2 can cause
A
- Airway inflammation in healthy people and increased respiratory symptoms in people with asthma
- Particular concern for susceptible individuals, including people with asthma asthmatics, children, and the elderly
- Precursor of ozone and consequent health effects
- Nitrate particles and acid aerosols cause respiratory problems- small particles can cause or worsen respiratory disease, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart disease, leading to increased hospital admissions and premature death
21
Q
Name the two types of SO2 that are problematic
A
- Gaseous SO2
* Sulfate particles
22
Q
What hell does gaseous SO2 cause?
A
- Temporary breathing difficulty for people with asthma
* High levels- respiratory illness and aggravate heart disease
23
Q
What hell do sulfate particles cause?
A
- May accumulate in the lungs
- Increased respiratory symptoms and disease
- Difficulty in breathing
- Premature death
24
Q
What hell do lower levels of CO cause?
A
• For those who suffer from heart disease
o Chest pain
o Reduce ability to exercise
• Repeated exposures may contribute to other cardiovascular effects
25
What hell do high levels of CO cause?
* Vision problems
* Reduced ability to work or learn
* Reduced manual dexterity
* Difficulty performing complex tasks
26
What hell do extremely high levels of CO cause?
Poisonous and can cause death
27
CO is a precursor of _____ and consequence _____ effects
Ozone, health
28
What hell does lead cause?
* Organ damage
* May lead to osteoporosis and reproductive disorders
* High blood pressure and heart disease, especially in men- may also lead to anemia
29
What hell do low levels of lead cause?
Damage the brain and nerves in fetuses and young children, resulting in learning deficits and lowered IQ
30
What hell does excessive exposure to lead cause?
Seizures, mental retardation, behavioral disorders, memory problems, and mood changes
31
What hell do particles cause?
* Increased respiratory symptoms (irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing)
* Decreased lung function
* Aggravated asthma
* Development of chronic bronchitis
* Irregular heartbeat
* Nonfatal heart attacks
* Premature death in people with heart or lung disease
32
What hell does PM 2.5 cause?
* Aggravates asthma and emphysema
* Decreased lung development
* May carry pollutants and gases deep into the respiratory system
* Cardiovascular disease and death in postmenopausal women
* Lung development
33
The difference between primary and secondary standards in the NAAQS
* Primary- for health
| * Secondary- overall well-being (plants, ecological effects)
34
Why environmental characterization monitoring?
* It determines the highest concentration in an area
* Possibly the most representative concentration in an area
* Finds the impact on air quality from significant sources or source category
* Background concentration
35
Why do we use mathematical models?
* We use mathematical models to help us and tell us relationships of all those numbers we monitored for what those naaqs and ambient air should be
* When industry applies for a permit and thus the right to pollute, what is the state going to allow them to pollute?
36
Point of Emission data?
* Continuous Emission Monitoring (CEM)
* Emission factors estimation tools
* Temperature of released gases
37
How important is meteorology?
SUPER FUCKING IMPORTANT
38
How is meteorology helpful?
* Wind speed and atmospheric stability
| * Ambient temperature and humidity
39
What are some important factors when linking health with air data and models?
* Environment characterization and meteorology
* Available monitoring data
* Constituent/pollutant traits
* Epidemiological study design
* Potential co-factors; socioeconomic status, education
* Exposure; pathways, dose, multi-pollutant effects
* Time; acute illness vs. chronic disease, latency
40
Name some strategies to evaluate risks and health effects
• Epidemiology (Gauderman et al. 2004; Miller et al)
• Toxicity studies (animal models)
• Clinical studies and physiological testing
• “Natural experiment” (Friedman et al. 2001)
• Exposure assessment
o Biomarkers
o Geographic information system (GIS)
41
What kinds of actions would be mitigation?
* Limiting carbon emissions, and many other gases (that are even more of an indictment on air quality than CO2)
* Actually lowering the emissions that are heating up the globe
42
Remedies for climate change
* Mitigation
| * Adaptation
43
Describe mitigation
```
• Mitigation, reduce greenhouse gases
o NSPS Emissions control
o Carbon tax
o Cap and trade
o Car and light truck emission standards
```
44
Define adaptation as according to the IPCC
• “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities” (IPCC)
45
Describe adaptation
```
• Adaptation
o Energy efficiency- weatherization measures
o Conservation and “Green” initiatives
o “Resilient buildings”
o Public health initiatives
```
46
How is climate change going to fuck everything up?
* Allergies- increased pollen, indoor air quality
* Vector borne diseases
* Weather extremes- structural damages, more sewage overflows- food production and waterborne disease
* Extreme heat, especially in cities
* Air and water pollution
* Water supply strain
* Extreme weather and moisture incursion
* Changes in “natural” biota- beyond more “pests” requiring changes in economy/ way of life
