AP®︎ Environmental Science: Unit 7 Flashcards

Primary pollutants are emitted directly from sources; secondary pollutants form in the atmosphere through reactions involving primary pollutants or precursors

The six common pollutants regulated by national ambient air-quality standards: CO, lead, NO₂, SO₂, particulate matter, and ground-level ozone

The federal law, especially the 1970 act and later amendments, that authorizes EPA air-quality standards and emissions regulation; under it, the EPA phased out leaded gasoline, dramatically reducing atmospheric lead

Federal outdoor-air standards for CO, lead, NO₂, ground-level ozone, particulate matter, and SO₂.

A colorless, odorless primary pollutant from incomplete combustion that binds to hemoglobin and reduces the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity

A primary pollutant from burning sulfur-containing coal or oil, including diesel, that irritates lungs and forms sulfuric acid and sulfate particles

Primarily NO and NO₂ formed during high-temperature combustion; they irritate the respiratory system and form ozone, nitric acid, nitrate particles, and photochemical smog

Solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air; primary PM is emitted directly, while secondary PM forms through atmospheric reactions

A persistent neurotoxic metal formerly emitted widely from leaded gasoline; it especially harms childhood nervous-system development and cognitive function

Harmful secondary O₃ formed in the lower atmosphere by sunlight-driven reactions involving NOₓ and VOCs; a major component of photochemical smog

Compounds containing hydrogen and carbon, often released as unburned fuel, that can react with NOₓ in sunlight to form ground-level ozone and photochemical smog

Burning coal releases CO₂, SO₂, particulate matter such as fly ash, toxic metals such as mercury and lead, and nitrogen oxides

Burning coal, oil, natural gas, gasoline, or diesel can release CO₂, CO, NOₓ, SO₂, hydrocarbons, VOCs, particulate matter, and toxic metals

Brownish pollutant mixture formed when NOₓ and VOCs react in the sunlit lower atmosphere, producing ground-level ozone and other photochemical oxidants

Sunlight drives reactions between NOₓ and VOCs in the lower atmosphere, producing tropospheric ozone and other photochemical oxidants that form brown smog

Carbon-containing compounds that readily evaporate or sublime near room temperature; gasoline, formaldehyde, solvents, and tree emissions provide smog-forming VOCs

Natural VOC sources include trees and other vegetation, wildfires, wetlands, microbes, and biological decomposition

High NOₓ and VOC emissions, intense sunlight, warm temperatures, stagnant air, and basin topography or thermal inversions increase photochemical smog

Ground-level ozone is generally lowest overnight and in the early morning, rises as sunlight drives photochemical reactions, and peaks in the afternoon

Photochemical smog irritates eyes and airways, worsens asthma, reduces lung function, and increases respiratory illness

Photochemical smog is reduced by lowering NOₓ and VOC emissions through cleaner fuels, vehicle and industrial controls, public transit, and reduced fossil-fuel use

Reversal of the normal temperature gradient in which cool surface air lies beneath warmer air, suppressing vertical mixing and trapping smog, particulates, and other pollutants near the ground

Under normal conditions air temperature decreases with altitude, allowing warm surface air to rise and mix pollutants upward

Natural CO₂ enters the atmosphere through organism and soil respiration, decomposition, volcanic activity, ocean outgassing, and naturally ignited wildfires

Natural particulate matter comes from volcanic ash, windblown mineral dust, wildfire smoke and ash, sea spray, pollen, spores, and other bioaerosols

Harmful gases, vapors, biological materials, or suspended particles present inside enclosed structures

A substance that interferes with the body's delivery or use of oxygen; carbon monoxide is an example

Naturally occurring radioactive gas from uranium decay that can enter through foundations or well water and is the second leading U.S. cause of lung cancer

Heat-resistant fibrous minerals used in older building materials whose airborne fibers can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma when inhaled

A common natural-source indoor pollutant consisting of moisture-dependent fungi that release spores, fragments, and allergens and can aggravate respiratory conditions

A common irritating VOC emitted by pressed wood, adhesives, building materials, furniture, upholstery, and carpeting

Neurotoxic lead particles released as chips or dust when older lead-based paint deteriorates or is disturbed, especially hazardous to children

Fuel-burning appliances and tobacco smoke can release indoor CO, NOₓ, SO₂, fine particles, VOCs, and carcinogens, especially where ventilation is poor

A gasoline-pump device that returns displaced VOC-containing fuel vapors from a vehicle tank to the station’s storage system

An engine-exhaust device that converts CO, NOₓ, and hydrocarbons into less harmful CO₂, N₂, O₂, and H₂O.

An industrial-exhaust device that uses water or an alkaline slurry to capture particles and dissolve or react with gases such as SO₂.

An industrial-exhaust device that uses a dry or nearly dry alkaline reagent to convert acidic gases into collectible solid particles

A device that electrically charges particles in industrial exhaust, attracts them to collection plates, and drops them into hoppers

Preventing pollutants from being produced or capturing or converting them before they enter the atmosphere

Transfer of acidic substances from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface through wet or dry deposition, principally after SO₂ and NOₓ form sulfuric and nitric acids

Delivery of acidic substances to Earth’s surface in rain, snow, sleet, fog, or cloud water

Settling of acidic gases and particles onto surfaces without precipitation, sometimes followed by their being washed into soil or water

Atmospheric oxidation of nitrogen oxides, especially the reaction of NO₂ with hydroxyl radicals, forms nitric acid

Atmospheric oxidation of sulfur dioxide followed by reaction with water forms sulfuric acid

Acid deposition originates mainly from NOₓ emitted by vehicles and power plants and SO₂ emitted by sulfur-containing coal combustion, with natural contributions from lightning, wildfires, soil microbes, and volcanoes

Winds transport SO₂, NOₓ, acids, and acidic particles far from their sources, causing acid deposition in downwind soils and waters

Acid deposition acidifies soils and surface waters, leaches essential nutrients, mobilizes toxic aluminum, harms plants and aquatic organisms, and reduces species richness

A soil or water body’s ability to neutralize added acid; carbonate-rich limestone provides high buffering, while granite and thin soils provide little

Human-generated sound at levels high enough to cause physiological stress, hearing loss, or ecological disruption

Major urban noise sources include road traffic, aircraft, trains, construction, factories, sirens, and amplified sound

Chronic excessive noise can cause hearing loss, sleep disruption, stress, impaired concentration, high blood pressure, and increased cardiovascular risk

Noise can mask communication, interfere with mating and hunting, disrupt predator detection, alter migration and habitat use, and reduce reproductive success