Activity 3.3.1 Air Pollution Core Activity

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 What is Air Pollution?

There are various forms of Pollution and air pollution is one of the most common ways pollution occurs. This occurs in many ways some are from natural sources and others are from human activity which is known as gaseous air pollution. Some human activity that causes air pollution are industrial facilities and motor vehicles. Natural occurrences examples can be volcanoes and forest fires.

This type of pollution can cause severe damage not only to the environment but also to us. Causes climate change, habitat degradation ozone depletion along with many illnesses and diseases that can potentially lead to death. 

Three gaseous air pollutants

  • Sulfur pollutants
    • SO2 also known as Sulphur dioxide is a common air pollutant. Sulfur pollution occurs in both natural and human activity. Some of the ways this happens is from volcanos, and fossil fuel combustions such as the burning of oil, coal, and gas that contain sulfur. You can detect sulfur in the air as it has a foul odor and bitter taste.  This pollutant can cause acid rain which leads to many environmental damage to human health specifically the respiratory. There are various things being done to reduce sulfur pollution in our atmosphere such as the Clean Air Act which is invested in clear air technology for industrial factories.
  • Nitrogen Pollutants
    • Nitrogen pollutants are non-toxic pollutants that consist of 4 forms of nitrogen Nitric acid(NO) and ammonia (NH3). Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O). This pollutant causes minimal damage unless high enough concentration or intense exposure can cause damage to vegetation and impaired pulmonary function in humans. Although this pollutant is hard to detect by smell or visuals as it is colorless and odorless
  • Hydrocarbon and VOCs
    • Hydrocarbons is combination of carbon and atoms such as methane known as CH4. Hydrocarbon emissions occur in both natural and human activities through industrial, mobile, agricultural and residential sources. Some examples can be unburned vehicle fuel, gases and vapors that evaporate from living vegetation, wildfires, termites. These gases and vapors can be toxic if concentration is high enough.

Air Quality Index

    AQI also known as air quality index is the measure of air quality grading the air on a scale of 0-500. Measuring various forms of air pollutants. The higher the air is rated it indicates the greater the amount of air pollution and health concerns. To illustrate AQI I gathered current data for three locations that are listed below on the first row. The Highest AQI was Los Lunas, New Mexico. 

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Time of Day

AQI Current

AQI Forecast

PM2.5

O3

Los Lunas, NM (highest)

12:00am

167

moderate

85

48

San Antonio (Where I Live)

2:00am

59

good

59

27

Los Angeles, CA

12:00am

65

good

65

36

    The findings from my chart above are focused on the US showing the current air quality as of 2:00am CDT.  San Antonio overall had the best air quality when this research was conducted. Surprisingly Los Angeles is near the same air quality as San Antonio both are forecasted to have a good AQI tomorrow. Los Lunas currently has the highest AQI falling into the unhealthy category because its air quality falls at 167. Therefore, those exposed may experience health issues and sensitive groups more serious issues.


Ozone (O3)

    Ozone is known as a photochemical therefore a secondary pollutant that is not emitted. These can irritate and damage animals and humans causing a range of issues such as respiratory issues. Ozone concentration varies around the world. Below I show the ozone concentration of San Antonio _______

PM 2.5

    Particle Matter smaller than 2.3 micrometers is referred to as PM2.5. A few examples can be dust, smoke, and chemicals. Which can cause environmental damage along with illnesses, defects, and diseases among humans. Below I show San Antonio's current PM 2.5 as of 2 am is measured at 16.0 which indicates moderate therefore sensitive individuals should refrain from being outdoors as respiratory issues may occur. The moderate category is between 9.1-35.4

        

National Standard

San Antonio Current measured over 1 hour

Time of Day

PM2.5

Average measured over 24 hours - 35 μg/m3

16.0µg/m3

2:00 am

O3

Average measured over 8 hours - 70 ppb (137 µg/m3)

35.0 ppb

2:00 am







                                                            Works cited 


Freedman, B. (2018). Environmental science: A Canadian perspective. Halifax, Canada: Dalhousie University Libraries.


US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2024, October 16).Air quality index basics. Air Now. https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi


Texas commission on environmental quality “ Latest hourly Pm-2.5 levels” (2024) 


Texas commission on environmental quality “Current ozone 1-hour levels” (2024)



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