Air pollution

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When you think of Earth's natural resources: soil, water, minerals, fossil fuels, air is not immediately to the mind. But air is probably the most important of all.

What would we do without fresh, clean air to breathe?
We do not think of air as a resource because, although it surrounds us, it is normally invisible without smell, colorless and without taste.

Air pollution occurs when certain toxic gases come into contact with the particles of the atmosphere, severely and damage the health of man, animals and plants.

Although much of the air pollution comes from industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, most come from motor vehicles.

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Let's see how motor vehicles contribute to air pollution.

Although much of the air pollution comes from industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, most come from vehicles.

Pollution occurs when the gasoline of vehicles is not completely burned and some hydrocarbons enter the air, along with the poisonous gas carbon monoxide.
Hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and other gases react to sunlight producing what we call smog.

Smog contains chemicals that irritate the eyes and make breathing difficult. Smog is harmful and even deadly, especially for people with ailments in the lungs and other respiratory disorders like asthma.

Smog is a cloud that is produced by environmental pollution, and resembles a dirty fog. Etymologically, the word comes from English and is a fusion between smoke and fog.

The industry's chimneys and exhaust fumes emit various airborne contaminants including sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides.
In the atmosphere, these oxides combine with the water vapor of air, in a series of complicated chemical reactions, to produce two of the strongest acids: sulfuric acid and nitric acid. These acids can fall to Earth as precipitation in the form of rain, snow, hail and even fog. When the precipitation contains more acidity than normal, it is called acid rain.

The main atmospheric pollutants are:

• sulfur Oxide that originates in oil refineries
• Carbon monoxide for stoves and cars
• Nitrogen oxide that exist at nuclear power points and internal combustion vehicles
• Carbon dioxide of industries and deforestation activity.

Atmospheric pollution causes serious effects in man causing irritations of the eyes and throat, cough, respiratory, nervous and cardiovascular problems that lead to cancer.

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After reading about all these pollution problems, you will think that the safest place is inside the house. Think again! Indoor air pollution is a subject that has been ignored. Several factors combine to create the problem. Some electrical appliances used in homes and offices emit potentially harmful gases.

There are many sources of indoor pollution. These include gases produced by wood or coal stoves and kerosene kitchens, as well as chemical compounds in air conditioners, disinfectants, and furnace and drain cleaners.

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Another cause of indoor pollution is cigarette smoke.

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Activities:
1 To perform at home:

• Peel several leaves of purple cabbage, boil them in water until the liquid turns purple. (CAUTION: When boiling liquids, wear safety goggles).
• When the cabbage and liquid have cooled, pour the liquid into a bowl through a sieve.
• Put 4 ml of lemon juice in another container. Add 2 ml of col. Stir and observe color changes. Based on the fact that lemon juice is an acid (citric acid). What color does the cabbage juice become in the presence of acid?

2 Answer in your notebook

• What are the main sources of air pollution?
• What is acid rain?
• What is smog?
• What are some sources of indoor air pollution?

3 The following images 1 2 describes the types of atmospheric pollutants present.

In the next post, we are going to study pollution: water.

If you have not yet seen the first part and the second part, I invite you to visit this link.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION # 1 ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION # 2 (SOIL)