Activity 3.3.1: Air Pollution Core Activity

Air Pollutants:

Sulfur - Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) are two of the most important sulfur gases in air pollutants. Both gases can be distinguished by taste or smell. Sulfur dioxide has a bitter taste, and hydrogen sulphide has a rotten egg odor. SO2 and H2S can be naturally produced through volcanoes and forest fires. Human activity can also contribute to the making of anthropogenic emissions of SO2 and H2S through the burning of fossil fuels. Anthropogenic emissions have been on the rise since 1860 with the start of the Industrial revolution. (Freedman, 2018) Vegetation, and humans around places of high sulfur concentration can be affected but rarely are. Most developed nations have put in measures to reduce sulfur gases from entering the air. We can place scrubbers within industrial plants, and wash the coal to get as much of the sulfur out. 

Nitrogen - With nitrogen gases the most important ones are nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ammonia (NH3). Ammonia is a colorless gas. Nitrous oxide is a colorless non-toxic gas that has a euphoria feeling when inhaled. This gas is commonly referred to as laughing gas. Nitric oxide is a colorless and odorless gas. Nitrogen dioxide is a reddish pungent gas that can cause irritation in respiratory, and eye membranes. Ammonia is created by decaying remains of dead biomass but with the human activity the burning of fossil fuels release ammonia into the air. The damage that nitrogen can cause is the photochemical reaction that produces ozone which is a harmful pollutant in the lower atmosphere (Freedman, 2018)

Hydrogen Carbon, and VOC's - Hydrocarbons are diverse group of chemicals that is a combination of hydrogen or Carbon. Methane (CH4) is naturally occurring for the most part from animals such as sheep and cattle. Termites can also produce methane from digesting their plant foods (Freedman,2018). Methane can also be released from fossil fuels and wildfires which gets absorbed into the atmosphere. Atmospheric Hydrocarbons are considered non-methane hydrocarbons. They mostly come from living vegetation like a forest during a warm sunny day. Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and the creation of ozone in the lower atmosphere which is harmful. 

Air Quality Index - AQI is used to measure air quality and can tell us how clean or polluted the air is. It measures the air for sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ground level ozone, and any other particle pollution. The scale used ranges from 0-500 using the terms good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous. 

	Time of Day	AQI Current	AQI Forecast	PM2.5	O3
Portola, California	5:00 am	101	Good	101	N/A
New Braunfels, TX (Where I Live)	7:00 am	30	Good	30	14
Los Angeles, CA	5:00 am	53	Good	53	6

The chart above shows Portola California being the worst for air quality at that specific time. The information for O3 or the forecast was not immediately available for Portola California. New Braunfels is currently at 30 PM 2.5 and Los Angeles at 53 for PM 2.5. O3 is low for both cities as well with New Braunfels 14 and Los Angeles at 6.

PM-2.5 - is an air pollutant that can be measured to determine air quality. PM-2.5 are tiny particles and water droplets. The measuring of PM-2.5 can also warn people to stay indoors if they are sensitive to poor air quality. 

Ozone - There are two levels in which ozone can reside in with it being in the stratosphere and troposphere which is ground level. Ozone in the ground level is the most damaging because it can cause respiratory illnesses, damaging of eyes, and a loss of lung function in humans and animals. 

National Standard	San Antonio Current measured over 1 hour	Time of Day
PM2.5 Average measured over 24 hours - 35 μg/m3	12.0 µg/m3	8:00 am
O3 Average measured over 8 hours - 70 ppb (137 µg/m3)	11 ppb	8:00 am

Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Sources: 

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

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2019, June 18).Air quality index basics. Air Now. https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqi

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Go to TCEQ Web Page. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.tceq.texas.gov/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/select_curlev.pl?user_param=88502.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Go to TCEQ Web Page. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.tceq.texas.gov/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/select_curlev.pl.