AIR POLLUTION

Lesson 12: Climate Change and Environmental Awareness

What is Air Pollution?

Air Pollution is contamination of the

indoor or outdoor environment by
any chemical, physical or biological
agent that natural characteristics of
the atmosphere. Household
combustion devices, motor vehicles,
industrial facilities and forest fires are
common sources of air pollution.
Air Pollution Cause
Air pollution is caused by the presence in the atmosphere of toxic substances,
mainly produced by human activities, even though sometimes it can result from
natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, dust storms and wildfires, also
depleting the air quality.

Anthropogenic air pollution sources are:

• Combustion of fossil fuels, like coal and oil for electricity and road transport,
producing air pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur dioxide
• Emissions from industries and factories, releasing large amount of carbon
monoxide, hydrocarbon, chemicals and organic compounds into the air
• Agricultural activities, due to the use of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers
that emit harmful chemicals
• Waste production, mostly because of methane generation in landfills
 • Carbon Monoxide
• Leads
• Nitrogen Oxide
TYPES OF AIR POLLUTANTS
• Particulate Matter
• Ozone
• Sulfur Dioxide
 • CO is a colorless, odorless gas formed by
the incomplete reaction of air with fuel. CO
pollution occurs primarily from emissions
produced by fossil fuel–powered engines,
including motor vehicles and non-road
engines and vehicles (such as construction
equipment and boats).
• Higher levels of CO generally occur in areas
C ARBON MONOXIDE with heavy traffic congestion. Other sources
of CO emissions include industrial processes
(such as processing of metals and chemical
manufacturing), residential wood burning,
and natural sources such as forest fires.
Woodstoves, gas stoves, cigarette smoke,
and unvented gas and kerosene space
heaters are indoor sources of CO.
• The highest levels of CO typically occur
during the colder months of the year when
inversion conditions (when the air pollution
becomes trapped near the ground beneath a
layer of warm air) are more frequent.
 Lead (Pb) is an elemental heavy
metal found naturally in the
LEADS environment as well as in
manufactured products. Lead
can be released directly into the
air, as suspended particles.
 • Primary stationary sources of lead today
include:
• lead smelters
• waste incinerators
• utilities
• lead-acid battery manufacturers and
LEADS recyclers
• Other industrial sources of lead emissions
can include:
• metals processing
• iron and steel foundries
• copper smelters
• industrial, commercial, and institutional
boilers
• glass manufacturers
• cement manufacturers
 Nitrogen oxides are produced in
combustion processes, partly
from nitrogen compounds in the
NITROGEN OXIDE fuel, but mostly by direct
combination of atmospheric
oxygen and nitrogen in flames.
Nitrogen oxides are produced
naturally by lightning, and also,
to a small extent, by microbial
processes in soils.
 Particulate matter, or PM, is the term
for particles found in the air, including
dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid
droplets. Particles can be suspended in
the air for long periods of time. Some
particles are large or dark enough to be
PARTICULATE MATTER seen as soot or smoke. Others are so
small that individually they can only be
detected with an electron microscope.
Some particles are directly emitted into
the air (primary particulate matter).
They come from a variety of sources
such as cars, trucks, buses, factories,
construction sites, tilled fields, unpaved
roads, stone crushing, and burning of
wood.
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF
PARTICULATE MATTER

- ash, dust, sea salt, water (H2O)

- organic carbon (OC) and elemental
carbon (EC)
- sulphate (SO2)
- nitrate (NOx)
- primary gaseous organics.
- particulate phase through several gas-
phasephotochemical (GPP) processes
 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS FOR
PARTICULATE MATTER

PM2.5 PM10
Annual Average Annual Average 24-Hour Annual 24-Hour
Average Average Average
3 3 3
National 12 µg/m 35 µg/m None 150 µg/m
Ambient Air
Quality
Standard

3 3 3
California 12 µg/m None 20 µg/m 50 µg/m
Ambient Air
Quality
Standard
 Particulate matter contains
microscopic solids or liquid
droplets that are so small that
they can be inhaled and cause
WHAT ARE THE HARMFUL
serious health problems. Some
EFFECTS OF PM? particles less than 10 micrometers
in diameter can get deep into your
lungs and some may even get
into your bloodstream. Of these,
particles less than 2.5
micrometers in diameter, also
known as fine particles or PM2.5,
pose the greatest risk to health.

OZONE
Ozone (O3) is a gas molecule composed of
three oxygen atoms. Ozone is good up high,
bad nearby. The ozone layer found high in the
upper atmosphere shields us from much of the
sun's ultraviolet radiation. However, ozone air
pollution at ground level where we can breathe it
causes serious health problems. Ozone
aggressively attacks lung tissue by reacting
chemically with it.
Who Is at Risk from Breathing
Ozone?
•Individuals who are pregnant;
•children and teens;
•anyone 65 and older;
•people with some pre-existing
medical conditions including lung
diseases (e.g. asthma), metabolic
disorders (e.g. obesity)
•People of lower socioeconomic
status
•people who work or exercise
outdoors.

SULFUR DIOXIDE
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a colorless, reactive air
pollutant with a strong odor. This gas can be a
threat to human health, animal health, and plant
life.
The main sources of sulfur dioxide emissions
are from fossil fuel combustion and natural
volcanic activity. Hawai'i Volcanoes National
Park (NP) is unique in the national park system
because it sometimes has extremely high
concentrations of sulfur dioxide — far higher
than any other national park, or even most
urban areas.
How can sulfur dioxide affect your health?
• Sulfur dioxide irritates the skin and mucous
membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, and
lungs. High concentrations of SO2 can cause
inflammation and irritation of the respiratory
system, especially during heavy physical
activity.
• The resulting symptoms can include pain
when taking a deep breath, coughing, throat
irritation, and breathing difficulties. High
concentrations of SO2 can affect lung
function, worsen asthma attacks, and worsen
existing heart disease in sensitive groups.
• This gas can also react with other chemicals
in the air and change to a small particle that
can get into the lungs and cause similar
health effects.
 Air pollution has a major impact
on the process of plant evolution
by preventing photosynthesis in
many cases, with serious
Effects of Air Pollution consequences for the purification
of the air we breathe. It also
On Environment contributes to the formation of
acid rain, atmospheric
precipitations in the form of rain,
frost, snow or fog, which are
released during the combustion of
fossil fuels and transformed by
contact with water steam in the
atmosphere.
 On top of that, air pollution is a
major contributor to global
warming and climate change.
In fact, the abundance of
carbon dioxide in the air is one
Effects of Air Pollution of the causes of the
greenhouse effect. Normally,
On Global Warming the presence of greenhouse
gases should be beneficial for
the planet because they absorb
the infra-red radiation produced
by the surface of the earth. But
the excessive concentration of
these gases in the atmosphere
is the cause of the recent
climate change.
 Air pollution is indeed a
significant risk factor for
Effects of Air Pollution human health conditions,
On Human Health causing allergies,
respiratory and
cardiovascular diseases as
well as lung damage.
 Air pollution Prevention:
Renewable fuel and clean energy
production
The most basic solution for air
pollution is to move away from fossil
fuels, replacing them with alternative
energies like solar, wind and geothermal.
 Air pollution Prevention:
Energy conservation and efficiency
Producing clean energy is crucial. But
equally important is to reduce our
consumption of energy by adopting
responsible habits and using more
efficient devices.
 Air pollution Prevention:
Eco- friendly Transformation
Shifting to electric vehicles and hydrogen
vehicles, and promoting shared mobility
(i.e carpooling, and public transports)
could reduce air pollution.
Air pollution Prevention:
Green Building
From planning to demolition, green
building aims to create environmentally
responsible and resource-efficient
structures to reduce their carbon
footprint.
 R E L E VANT L AW

The law aims to achieve and

maintain clean air that meets the
REPUBLIC ACT 8749 PHILIPPINE
National Air Quality guideline
CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999
values for criteria pollutants,
throughout the Philippines, while
minimizing the possible associated
impacts to the economy.
Thank you!!