Jamie Kanzler Extended Essay: What is the impact of pollution on ozone depletion? Section 1: Introduction Air is classified as a mixture because it is made up of many different elements. These elements include 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% Argon, .4% water vapor, and .04% carbon dioxide. Human activity has a very large effect on the air in our environment. Over time, humans have caused the once clean air to become polluted with chemicals. These chemicals are called pollutants. A pollutant is defined as a substance created from human activity, that is present at a concentration greater than its natural levels, and has a harmful effect on the environment. Many different pollutants exist in our air today and the concentration of these chemicals causes their toxicity to vary. Generally, pollutants are classified into two groups: primary and secondary pollutants. A primary pollutant is a chemical that enters directly into the atmosphere. Common primary pollutants include nitrogen monoxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. A volatile organic compound is a compound of carbon that participates in a photochemical reaction in the atmosphere. The second type of pollutant, a secondary pollutant, is produced when primary pollutants go through a chemical reaction with environmental constituents in the atmosphere. Examples of secondary pollutants include sulfuric acid, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone. These pollutants are “modified
Pollution is defined as the process of harmful substances being released into the air. Some of these substances include Carbon Monoxide, Sulphur dioxide, Lead and PM2.5. PM2.5 is small particles which are smaller than 25 thousandths of a millimeter. This polluted air will fill your lungs with tiny particles and cause Lung cancer, Asthma and other heart and lung diseases.
The term "ozone" has appeared in numerous magazine and newspaper articles and has been a subject of discussion on both radio and television. Despite all the publicity surrounding this term, however, many people are still confused by it. The confusion arises from the fact that ozone is both beneficial and harmful. We know that the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere acts as a filter for the sun's ultraviolet rays, reducing the amount of radiation that reaches the earth's surface. At ground level, though, high concentrations of ozone can be harmful.
There are many kinds of air pollution. The ones I want to talk about are the ozone, acid rain, carbon monoxide and toxic air contaminants. Ozone is formed when hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide react in sunlight.
Hazardous chemicals escape to the environment by a number of natural and anthropogenic activities that cause serious health effects on humans and the environment. Air pollutants can be very harmful to our health. We can be affected depending on the amount of time we are exposed, as well as the chemicals and particles we are exposed to. Short term exposure to hazardous chemicals can include irritation to the nose, eyes and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Others can suffer from severe headaches, nausea, and
of ozone, and it acts like a sunshade for humans as it shields most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation that comes from the sun. The ultraviolet radiation also takes part in forming the ozone initially as the reaction of radiation separating the oxygen molecule made up of two atoms results in the separated oxygen molecules recombining with other oxygen molecules to form ozone. There are three types of Ultraviolet radiation and the three types differ in wavelength. UV-A radiation, emitted at 315-400 nm is unaffected by ozone reduction and is not as harmful as UV-B radiation. UV-B radiation is affected by the decrease in atmospheric ozone and it causes the most damage to living organisms on Earth and is emitted at 280-315 nm. The damage from UV-B depends on the amount of atmospheric ozone present and cloud cover shielding the surface from some radiation, as well as the angle of the sun in the sky. As stratospheric ozone diminishes, proportionately more of the shorter UV-B will reach the surface of Earth affecting many living organisms. UV-C is lethal as it is emitted at 200-280 nm; however, it is completely absorbed by atmospheric ozone and oxygen. Therefore, even with severe ozone depletion, UV-C radiation will not harm the surface of the Earth.
When the air is contaminated by different types of harmful gases & particles ,then it is called air pollution .The addition of harmful chemicals to the atmosphere may be defined as the presence of one or more contaminants such as dust, fumes, gas, mist, odor, smoke or vapor in the atmosphere which may prove to be injurious to plant, animals and human life (Perkins, 1974).. The most serious air pollution results from the burning of fossil fuels, especially in internal-combustion engines(The American Heritage,2002).It means air is a transparent matter consisting of nitrogen & oxygen. may be defined as the presence of one or more contaminants such as dust, fumes, gas, mist, odor, smoke or vapor in the atmosphere which may prove to be injurious to plant, animals and human life (Perkins, 1974). In 2009, Johan Rockström (Stockholm Resilience Center) and a group of researchers from Europe, the U.S. and Australia, tried to identify the Earth-system processes and associated thresholds which, if crossed, could generate unacceptable environmental change . They found nine such processes for which they believe it is necessary to define planetary boundaries. Their analysis suggested that three of the Earth-system processes — rate of biodiversity loss, climate change, interference with the nitrogen cycle have already transgressed their boundaries (Rockström J, Steffen W, Noone K, Persson Å, Chapin FS, 2009).So, we have to reduce these kind of pollution at any case . in a
The earth atmosphere has many layers; the first two layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, and the ozone layer which sits in the lower area of the stratosphere. The troposphere layer is where a lot of human activity occurs, such as planes and mountain climbing. The next layer is the stratosphere and this is where the ozone layer is located as well. The ozone layer helps protect people from ultraviolet radiation that mainly come from the sun. The ozone layer can be different depending on the season and the location. Over the past few years, the ozone layer has been depleting because of human activity. The main issue of the depletion of the ozone layer is the man-made products that have been created and has cause bad effect on the ozone layer itself.
The focus of this research paper is air pollution. Simply put, air pollution may be defined as the introduction of harmful materials such as particles or/ and biological molecules into the earth’s surface. The materials that are introduced in the earth’s atmosphere are harmful in the sense of having the potency to cause death and disease to humans, and flora and fauna. Apart from this fact, the earth’s atmosphere is a complexity of gaseous system that occurs naturally and is critical for the sustenance of life on the planet. The 2014 World Health Organization Report states that air pollution was responsible for the deaths of more than 7 million people globally, in 2012.
There are naturally occurring air pollutants, such as the ash that goes up into the air frm volcanic eruptions or from natural fires like when a tree is hit by lightning. However, since the discovery of fire, human beings have done more damage to the Earth than any other species on the planet. Some of the most prolific pollutants in our air, according to Richard Wright (2007), are: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, and lead (page 340). Any of these things, if one is exposed to it for lengthy periods of time, can cause lasting damage to people and to all other living things within an ecosystem.
““It’s absolutely stupid that we live without an ozone layer. We have men, we’ve got rickets, we’ve got rockets, we’ve got saran wrap – FIX IT””, said Lewis Black, a comedian. If only it were that easy. However the ozone continues to be depleted because of deforestation. To understand this topic, one must understand what the ozone and deforestation are. The ozone should be protected at any cost. If we fail to protect our ozone, the earth will become one big frozen and lifeless ball. First and foremost, to understand the ozone one must understand deforestation and the ozone layer.
With the growth of number of factories, transportation and various exhaust gases today, a level of air pollution has significantly increased in the environment. The smog enveloping the city is the most visible and obvious sign of urban pollution. However, even invisible harmful particles can have a big impact on the quality of airspace. In general, any substance released into the environment and having an adverse effect, is an air pollution. Hazardous substances present in the air, not only affect the environment but to a greater extent on the person who breathes it.
The ozone layer is a very important component in the atmosphere. Ozone is not the same as the oxygen humans breathe. There is very little of this gas in the atmosphere. First off, let’s begin with a definition of the ozone layer. Ozone is a hot, slightly bluish gas. It is a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms, which are very similar to the molecule we are familiar with (O2), the molecule needed for human respiration. Despite the major smog problem, about 90 percent of Earth’s ozone are actually in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere far above the Earth’s surface. It lies above the troposhere, the miles-thick lower layer where air is densest and where most weather occurs. So, it is
“Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases, which can be fatal.” (n.d world health organization para. 1)
The ozone layer is a specific area in the stratosphere of maximum ozone concentration. Ozone in the stratosphere forms naturally and protects us from damage that can be caused by solar radiation such as skin cancer. In the 1970s chemists discovered that certain chemicals could travel into the upper atmosphere and damage the protective ozone. Ever since this was discovered scientists, government, and citizens have been making efforts to control and reverse the damage done to the ozone. In 1987 a treaty called the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed by world leaders who were participating in the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Without this protocol the abundances of chlorine would
Air may be polluted by various contaminants in various forms. Most of the toxic chemicals are capable of making their way into the atmosphere to pollute the air. Clouds of liquid and solid particles in a gas, also known as aerosol particles are found in the air may also contain pollutants. Such substances that pollute the air are called air pollutants and these compounds can broadly be of the following two major categories