The Fight 1

The Fight against Emissions and Factories

Tyler Shoulders
Sullivan College of Technology and Design

The Fight 2

In the discussion of carbon dioxide emissions, one controversial issue

has been the standard for allowable CO2 dispersion. The EPA insists that the
allowable CO2 dispersionmeaning how much carbon dioxide is allowed to
be released into the airshould be lowered for the reasoning of human
health and environmental issues. Many concerns about CO2 emissions have
become a popular topic of discussion: some examples of these are global
warming and ozone layer depletion (Khaqan, 2011, EPA, 2015, Cappiello,
2014). This paper will have original research that will explain what emissions
are, as well as what causes them; it will also discuss if people really know
what emissions are, the ozone and global warming, the EPA standards and
thoughts on the subject. This paper also will explore the health effects of
emissions and the measures to keep track of emissions. This literature
reviews purpose is to give the reader a better understanding of the
environmental issues that are present in the world.
First and foremost: what are emissions? They are gases such as carbon
dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)
and many others. There are two different ways emissions are released: one
being natural and the other being human releases. The biggest producer of
emissions between the two is the human emissions. These come from a
range of sources: some examples of these would be electricity,
transportation, industries, residential, as well as many others (EPA, Peterson,
2015). For most of us, we use the biggest producing emission source there is
electricity. In everyday life humans use electricity at some point, but what
some may not understand is that we are helping produce emissions.
So do people really know what emissions are? I created a survey for
fellow peers to take on Survey Monkey to answer this question. The
questions focused on several things: do people know what emissions are, do
they know the EPA standard for allowable emissions, do they know that they
create emissions, and do they know how it affects their body? From the
results, most people knew what emissions were and that they do create

The Fight 3

them, but the big factor was that people did not know the standard for
allowable emissions dispersion or the health factors that come along with it.
Only 40% of people who took the survey knew the EPA standard: which is set
at 75 parts per billion of emission gases (EPA, 2015). The question about the
health factors of emissions shows that most people are not aware of the full
effect of emissions or the effects of the gases on the human body. One
hundred percent of people knew that they created emissions some way or
another. Think of it this waywhen we turn on a light, the power has to come
from a power plant and for that power plant to produce electricity, it must
create some kind of emission. Some of these emissions would come from
burning fossil fuels, coal, or natural gas. With the burning of these sources,
gas is released into the aircreating emissions.
With the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in charge of setting
the laws and regulations of emissions, they have created standardized limits.
They have researched the health effects of emissions. The EPA has set a limit
of the allowable emissions that can be released in the air. The standard now
is 75 parts per billion of emission gases; the EPA, however does not think this
is low enough anymore. Upon new findings in their many studies of
environmental impact and health effects, they now want to lower the
standard from 75 to 60 or 70 parts per billion (Cappiello, 2014). With this
new standard proposed, states will have up to 20 years to meet this new
limit (Cappiello, 2014). The EPA has been conducting ongoing studies to
understand the side effects of emissions; through their research they have
found that emissions can be the cause of cancer, nervous system problems,
and respiratory problems (EPA risk assessment, 2015). With the standards
being how they are and the problems they can cause, there has to be a way
of monitoring the release of the gases.
Carbon emissions accounted for 82% of all U.S. greenhouse gases
(EPA, 2015). As in the previous paragraph, there are many different sources
that create emissions. Every day we make emissions some way or another.

The Fight 4

For scale, electricity is 38% while transportation is 32%, industry is 14%,

residential is 9%, and other sources is 6% (Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2012). So every time you use a light or drive a
car, you are some way creating emissions that go in the air. With these
emissions going into the air, there are some effects to the environment that
scientists are worried about.
With emissions being released into the air, the big concern is the ozone
depletion and global warming. So what does this mean? When emissions are
released, they combine with the air and start moving through the ozone
layers. While the gases combined with the air in the ozone layers, most of
the gases stay in the lower ozone causing smog. The gases also start
removing some of the upper ozone layers which protect us from UV rays
from the sun. Scientists also believe the removal of the ozone layer is the
cause of global warming (Lerche, 2014). With the gases staying in the lower
ozone, scientists have proven that it is harmful to human health and can
cause different side effects to our body, like cancer or nervous system
problems (Peterson. Etac.2014). The EPA has created studies to understand
the effects of these gases on the body and environment.
The emissions that are being released into the air must be monitored
for the EPA to allow them to see if a facility is meeting the standard that has
been put in place. There are a few ways to monitor the release of these
emissions: CEMSContinues Emissions Monitoring System, and PEMS
Predictive Emissions Monitoring System (Khaqan, 2011). These two systems
are ways factories can monitor and analyze emission data for the EPA. The
CEMS collects samples of exhaust gases and then analyzes them to report
the real emission levels leaving the facility. The PEMS consist of software in a
dedicated computer that collects data from the plants existing control
system and uses mathematical algorithms and equations to predict
emissions levels (Khaqan, 2011). With both of these systems in place,

The Fight 5

factories are able to monitor and analyze the data to make sure their facility
is maintaining the EPA standards.
In conclusion, emissions are gases like carbon dioxide and methane
that are produced by factories, energy generation, transportation, and many
other things. Carbon dioxide emissions account for 82% of all greenhouse
gases in the U.S. (EPA, 2015). The study on if people understand or know
about emissions, most people can name a gas that is an emission, but most
do not know how it will affect them or the environment. With all these
emissions the EPA has conducted studies to research the health effects of
the gases, and with that want to lower the standard of allowable release of
gases. The growing technology will allow a better monitoring system for
factories like the CEMS and PEMS, to better advance the research and
hopefully one day lower our carbon footprint.

References

Khaqan, A. (2011). PEMS the low-cost alternative to emissions monitoring

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=23223ec29d40-4ef3-b081-c7b72cc8d384%40sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=104

EPA. (2015). Carbon Dioxide Emissions

E:\Comp\Carbon Dioxide Emissions Climate Change US EPA.htm

EPA. (2015). Health Risk Assessment

E:\Comp\Risk Assessment for Toxic Air Pollutants A Citizen's Guide Air
Quality Planning & Standards US EPA.htm

Cappiello, D. (2014). Obamas administration wants new smog standard

E:\Comp\Obama Administration Wants New Smog Standard.html

Lerche, J. (2014). Cause of Global warming

E:\Comp\Factories' Pollution & Other Causes of Global Warming Home
Guides SF Gate.htm

The Fight 6

Peterson, J. (2014). Pollution caused by factories

E:\Comp\Environmental Pollution Caused by Factories Everyday Life Global Post.htm

Whats your Impact. (2015). What are the main sources of carbon dioxide
emissions
E:\Comp\What are the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions What's
Your Impact.mht