Pollutant Properties
This is the short letter and number code scientists use to show what a pollutant is made of (example: CO2).
What is a chemical formula?
Term for human activities that contribute to atmospheric qualities.
What are anthropogenic sources?
This condition, often worsened by air pollution, causes difficulty breathing and chest tightness.
What is Asthma?
This U.S. law, passed in 1970, regulates major air pollutants.
What is the Clean Air Act?
Planting these living organisms helps absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere.
What are trees?
This describes how a pollutant behaves physically, such as being a gas, liquid, or particulate.
What are physical properties?
Forest fires, volcanoes, and dust storms release pollution without human activity. What type of sources are these?
What are natural sources?
Many air pollutants irritate this organ system responsible for breathing.
What is respiratory system?
This federal agency enforces air quality standards in the United States.
What is the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)?
Switching from gasoline cars to these vehicles reduces tailpipe emissions.
What are electric vehicles?
This term describes pollutants that are created by chemical reactions in the atmosphere, rather than being released directly from a source.
What is a secondary pollutant?
This sector, including factories and power plants, is one of the largest contributors to air emissions.
What is industrial activity?
Some air pollutants trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to this.
What is climate change or global warming?
These limits set the maximum safe concentration of pollutants in outdoor air.
What are National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)?
This renewable energy source uses wind turbines to generate electricity without air pollution.
What is wind energy?
This property describes how easily a substance evaporates and becomes a gas in the air.
What is volatility?
This term describes pollutants released from burning fuels like coal, gasoline, or diesel.
What are combustion emissions?
Lead, mercury, and similar pollutants can damage this system responsible for memory and coordination.
What is the nervous system?
This international agreement phased out CFCs to protect the ozone layer.
What is the Montreal Protocol?
These systems installed on smokestacks remove particulate matter before it enters the air.
What are scrubbers or filters?
This property determines how easily a pollutant dissolves in water, influencing whether it contaminates rain, rivers, or groundwater.
What is solubility?
Paints, cleaning products, and air fresheners are indoor sources that release this type of pollution into the air.
What are VOCs (volatile organic compounds)?
Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react with this substance in the atmosphere.
What is water vapor?
These regulations control how much pollution cars, factories, and power plants are allowed to release.
What are emission regulations?
This strategy involves reducing pollution by changing behaviors, such as carpooling or conserving energy.
What is pollution prevention or sustainable practices?