Air Quality Worksheet HW AGP
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Central Connecticut State University *
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Course
190
Subject
Geography
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
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Uploaded by ElderFish1046
Air Quality Worksheet
Name Asja Grace-Pearson
26 points
Goals:
We will explore air pollution and its health impacts. You will learn about different types of air pollutants, their formation, transport and health impacts. This will take several class periods to complete. Our case study will look at environmental justice communities in Los Angeles. We will work in groups; each group will work on a different part of the EJ section of the worksheet and then present their findings to the class. Background: Back in 1954, the smog was so bad in Los Angeles, California, that people wore gas masks to a banquet.
Today, the air in Los Angeles is a lot clearer, though there are still bad air days on occasion.
1
Air Quality Worksheet
Name Asja Grace-Pearson
26 points
Next
,
watch the excellent video on air pollution here:
https://youtu.be/_dTtvtlct9k
Make sure you understand the flow chart…
Next
Go to: Visible and Invisible Pollutants
. Work through the module which will help reinforce the information from the video. Answer the following questions:
1. Page 2: Answer Question #1
Which particulate pollutant would cause the most harm to people?
a.10 µm particle
b. 5 µm particle
c. 2 µm particle
2. Page 4: Answer Question #8
What effect do aerosols have on the amount of solar radiation that hits Earth's surface?
a. Aerosols increase the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface.
b. Aerosols decrease the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface.
c. Aerosols have no effect on the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface.
3. Page 5: Answer Question #11
What was the most likely cause of the poor air quality?
a. burning coal
b. factory production
c. forest fires
4. Page 6: What might have caused the decline in NOx emissions in Europe between 1990 and 2000?
a. Decline in automobile use
b. Improved diesel emission controls for motor vehicles
c. More industrial production
5. Page 7: Would you expect to find high emissions of VOCs in areas with large refineries or other petroleum processing facilities? (
Yes/No)
Thinking about local and regional air pollution:
Go To: https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/california/los-angeles
6. Explain why the climate/geographic setting + population + industry make LA a perfect
setting for air quality problems. (Scroll down the page and you will find a section “Why does Los Angeles have unhealthy air quality?”)
There is so much vehicles emissions in the city alone due to the amount of vehicles owned in the city alone. Also due to the large population (4 million), there is a lot of humans creating other emissions. 2
Air Quality Worksheet
Name Asja Grace-Pearson
26 points
N
ext
, Go to the Concord Consortium Air Pollution Module: Movement of Pollutants
This interactive model can be considered a simplified version of the Los Angeles air basin. The Pacific Ocean would be on the left (west) and the San Gabriel Mountains on the right (east). See this before/after image of LA on a smoggy day and a clear day: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/150304-los-angeles-smog-children-health-
environment
Page 1 of Concord Module: Read, then go to page 2
7.
Page 2 of Module: Use the model to answer these questions
a and b:
a.
Where would you expect air pollutants to collect if a sea breeze (wind from the west) was blowing? They would collect in factory plants as well as well as openings in the buildings. b. What would you expect to happen to air pollutants if Santa Ana winds were blowing from the east? Use the model to predict what will happen. They would contaminate the sea water (if they were blowing in that direction) or pollute the air whichever direction the wind blows it. c.
What are Santa Ana winds? See: Santa Ana Winds
Santa Ana winds are strong and dangerous winds that increase in speed blowing from the mountains to the Southern California Coast. 8
.
Page 3 of Module: Weather and geography. a.
Using the model, explain how sea breeze, warm weather, no rain (California is in a drought) and sunlight react to produce secondary pollutants causing smog. Refer back to the video on page 1 to help explain photochemical smog formation (secondary pollutants)
. Why do the lines on the graph go up and down?
The lines go up and down because even though there is no rain, the sea breeze may add a moist breeze allowing some of the air pollutants to be washed away. b
. Now assume there is very little sunlight, no rain and a sea breeze. What happens to the formation of secondary pollutants, according to the graph?
The secondary pollutants slowly increase faster than the scenario above. c.
What do the results of a and b tell you about the role of sunlight in the formation of secondary pollutants?
The sun speeds up the reactions of the primary pollutants, causing the secondary pollutants to produce faster compared to no or little sunlight. 9.
Page 5 of module: Put your screenshot here for question 11:
3
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Air Quality Worksheet
Name Asja Grace-Pearson
26 points
10
. Page 6: Answer question 13 a.
Question 13 (wind is blowing strongly from the south)
i. good air quality
ii. fair air quality
iii. poor air quality
b.
Question 13: (wind is blowing 5 mph from the south)
i. good air quality
ii. fair air quality
iii. poor air quality
11
. Page 7: Answer question 17.
Question 17. Refer back to the video on page 1 in order to answer this question.
a.
What is(are) the likeliest source(s) for the pollutant(s) that cause acid rain to form?
i. automobile exhaust
ii. nuclear power plant
iii. coal-fired power plants
iv. exhaust from diesel trucks
b.
Explain your answer to a.
Primary pollutants such as NOx, VOCs, CO, PM, SO2 and lead mix with each other and form the secondary pollutants from their chemical reactions. Air Quality Index: Measuring Air Quality (Concord Consortium)
All good air is the same, but bad air can have different reasons for its poor quality. The AQI (Air Quality Index) is a measure of how safe the air is for human health.
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Air Quality Worksheet
Name Asja Grace-Pearson
26 points
The AQI rates the air as good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, or hazardous. Poor air quality days can adversely affect everyone but especially affects those with breathing difficulties, such as those with asthma or emphysema, and the very young and very old.
People living in areas with poor air quality have lower life expectancies than those living in good air quality locations.
How does the AQI work?
(EPA https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/)
Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.
For each pollutant an AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to an ambient air concentration that equals the level of the short-term national ambient air quality standard for protection of public health. AQI values at or below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy: at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.
The AQI is divided into six categories. Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. Each category also has a specific color. The color makes it easy for people to quickly determine whether air quality is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities
.
AQI Basics for Ozone and Particle Pollution
You can monitor current air quality in the United States at the link below. Air Quality Index (AQI): https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/
12.
What is the AQI for CCSU now? (include date/time)
The AQI is good 0-5, as of Tuesday, April 18, 2023 7:06am. 13
. What are the six Criteria Air Pollutants? https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants
Ground level ozone, particular matter, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide. 5
Air Quality Worksheet
Name Asja Grace-Pearson
26 points
14
. What are the health impacts of PM2.5 and NO2 and ozone and SO2? PM2.5 is very micro and can enter your lungs or bloodstream just by breathing it in. This then gets attached to your lungs and starts to cover them as if they were smokers lungs. When breathed in, SO2 and NO2 can cause respiratory damages and difficulty breathing. 15
. Deaths attributable to outdoor air pollution
Link: Berkeley Earth http://berkeleyearth.org/air-pollution-overview/
a.
Describe the equivalence between air pollution and smoking cigarettes
http://berkeleyearth.org/air-pollution-and-cigarette-equivalence/
What is the “rule of thumb” the Berkeley Earth scientists used to estimate the equivalence between PM2.5 and cigarette smoking?
What do the scientists conclude about air pollution and global health?
The rule of thumb is smoking one cigarette equals to breathing in 22 µg/m^3 of PM2.5. Air pollution is equivalent to smoking .4 cigarettes per day. Scientists conclude that pollution is the biggest threat to humans today because it affects all age groups the same and causes major health issues once breathed in or felt through the skin. b
. Which countries have the worst air pollution today?(Top 5)
https://www.iqair.com/us/world-air-quality-ranking
Nepal, Thailand, Bangladesh, India and South Africa. c.
Where are they located?
Southeast Asia d
. Using Google, try to discover why these cities are the most polluted. These countries in Southeast Asia are the most polluted because they participate in more emission activities such as burning biomass for crop fields, using fossil fuels to cook at home, vehicle emission and industry power plants. e.
Use the app: https://shootismoke.app/ - :~:text=cigarettes per month
%3F-,Sh**t!,of Air-Quality Stations worldwide.
f.
search for your hometown and determine your daily, weekly and monthly cigarette intake…Should you move?
I put Hartford and Daily: 0.2 Weekly: 1.1 Monthly: 4.9
Our primary pollutant is PM2.5 but the air quality is sarifastory and I can continue
enjoying the air outside. No need to move. 6
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