Lecture 9

Question 1

What are the two classifications of air pollutants?

Answer 1

1. criteria pollutants (widespread, common and detrimental to human welfare)
2. hazardous air pollutants (usually carcinogen, different in different regions in US)

Question 2

What’s the underlying policy of the clean air act?

Answer 2

Everybody should have the same degree of protection

Establish uniform national standards

Most susceptible subgroups of individuals (i.e. asthmatics, children) are to be protected

States implement the plan

Question 3

Describe criteria air pollutants

Answer 3

They’re emitted from many large diverse sources, including mobile and stationary sources

Omnipresent and, therefore, pose the greatest overall threat to human health

Presupposition: the adverse health effects are not cancerous and their dose-response relationship exhibits a threshold.

Question 4

Name 6 types of criteria air pollutants (CAPs).

Answer 4

1. particulate matter (PM)
2. sulfur dioxide (SO2)
3. nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
4. ozone (O3)
5. carbon monoxide (CO)
6. lead (pb)

Question 5

Name 5 types of hazardous air pollutants.

Answer 5

Mostly carcinogens:

PCBs
xylene
mercury
benzene
toluene
chromium
PAH
styrene

Question 6

What are some sources of air pollution?

Answer 6

mobile sources: such as cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains

stationary sources (major): one or a group of sources emitting >-10 tons/yr. (power plants, oil refineries, industrial facilities, etc.)

area sources: any stationary source that is not a major source (agricultural areas, cities, wood burning fireplaces)

natural sources: such as wind-blown dust, wildfires, and colcanoes

Question 7

What is particulate matter?

Answer 7

dust, mist, smoke, fume

some particles are large or dark enough to be seen as soot or smoke

other particles are so small that they can detected only with an electron microscope

originate from a variety of mobile and stationary sources (diesel trucks, wood stoves, power plants, etc.)

their chemical and physical composition varies widely

Question 8

Describe transport and fate of pollutants.

Answer 8

Question 9

What causes smog?

Answer 9

Question 10

How does particulate size affect toxicokinetics?

Answer 10

The smaller the particle size, the greater it’s surface area, and so the greater lung disposition(greater absorption like effect)

Question 11

What is ozone?

Answer 11

Found in the troposphere and in the stratosphere of the atmosphere. Stratospheric ozone protects the earth from the sun’s harmful rays.

Ground-level ozone: a main component of smog

Question 12

Who are people at risk of ground level ozone formation?

Answer 12

people that:

live close to traffic
lung developing (pregnancy and children)
asthmatic
genetic risk

Question 13

What are the reasons of concern for indoor air pollutants?

Answer 13

Question 14

How can air inside of a building be polluted?

Answer 14

Question 15

What are the health effects of indoor air pollution?

Answer 15

Question 16

What are some sources of indoor pollutants?

Answer 16

Question 17

How does ozone affect one’s body?

Answer 17

damage to lipids affects membranes

protein oxidation

DNA damage could lead to mutations resulting in cell death or cancer initiation

Question 18

What are the health effects of ozones?

Answer 18

aggravates lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis

increases the frequency of asthma attacks

makes the lungs more susceptible to infection

continues to damage the lungs even when the symptoms have disappeared

Question 19

Describe asthma and it’s significance in public health

Answer 19

Most common chronic disorders affecting children

seven million children under the age of 18 have asthma in the S

third leading cause of hospitalization among children under age of 15 (in 2008, was associated with an estimated 10.5 million missed school days)