This document discusses the main components of air pollution. It explains that the air is primarily composed of nitrogen and oxygen, along with smaller amounts of other gases. It then examines some key air pollutants in more detail, including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulates. For each pollutant, it provides information on their chemical composition and sources, as well as their environmental and health impacts.
2. WHAT ISTHE AIR COMPOSED OF?
• The mixture of gases that makes up the Earth's atmosphere is known as air.
Nitrogen makes up 78 % of this gas, which is mixed with oxygen (21%), water
vapour (variable), argon (0.9 %), carbon dioxide (0.04%), and trace gases.
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4. AIR POLLUTION
Carbon monoxide, CO is formed when combustion of
carbon based materials take placed and there is not
enough oxygen to create carbon dioxide. Carbon
monoxide is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless,
odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon
monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen
atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simplest carbon
oxide. In coordination complexes, the carbon monoxide
ligand is called carbonyl
5. SULFUR DIOXIDE
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a gaseous air
pollutant composed of sulfur and
oxygen. SO2 forms when sulfur-
containing fuel such as coal, oil, or
diesel is burned. Sulfur dioxide also
converts in the atmosphere to sulfates,
a major part of fine particle pollution in
the eastern U.SAcid rain is caused by
the release of sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere,
where they react with water, oxygen,
and other chemicals to become
sulfuric and nitric acid respectively.The
pH of acid-impacted rain is generally
below 4.5 on the pH scale
6. OXIDES OF NITROGEN
Oxides of nitrogen are a mixture of gases that are composed
of nitrogen and oxygen.Two of the most toxicologically
significant compounds are nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide
(NO2) Environmental and health effects of nitrogen oxides
Elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide can cause damage to the
human respiratory tract and the severity of, respiratory
infections and asthma. Long-term exposure to high levels of
nitrogen dioxide can cause chronic lung disease
7. PARTICULATES
Fine particles in the air (measured as PM2.5) are so
small that they can travel deeply into the
respiratory tract, reaching the lungs, causing
short-term health effects such as eye, nose,
throat and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing,
runny nose, and shortness of breath. articulate
matter (PM) is made of solid particles and liquid
droplets in the air. PM can come from many
places. In general, any type of burning or any
dust-generating activities are sources of PM.
