Mar.

11th, 2016

Academic English

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON AIR POLLUTION

Definition: Air pollution is the introduction of particulates, biological molecules, or other harmful materials into
Earth's atmosphere, causing diseases, death to humans, damage to other living organisms such as animals and food
crops, or the natural or built environment.
Facts:
1. In 2009, China burned nearly half of the world's coal, and coal accounts for nearly 70% of China's energy mix.
2. Cities in Chinas Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region suffered over 100
hazy days a year with PM2.5 concentration two to four times above World Health Organization guidelines.
3. Beijing experienced 2,589 deaths and a loss of $328 million in 2012 because of PM2.5 pollution.
Sources:
Man-made sources:
These are mostly related to the burning of multiple types of fuel.
Stationary sources: Smoke stacks of power plants, Manufacturing factories and Waste incinerators.
Uncontrolled burning.
Waste deposition in landfills.
Military resources, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry.
Natural sources:
Dust from natural sources.
Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust.
Vegetation, some VOCs react with primary anthropogenic pollutantsspecifically, NOx, SO2, and
anthropogenic organic carbon compounds to produce a seasonal haze of secondary pollutants.
Volcanic activity.

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Healthy Effects:
Mortality: It is estimated that some 7 million premature deaths may be attributed to air pollution.

Cardiovascular disease: Air pollution exposure is a risk factor correlating with increased total mortality from
cardiovascular events. It is also emerging as a risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing countries where
pollutant levels are highest.
Lung disease: Research has demonstrated increased risk of developing asthma from increased exposure to trafficrelated air pollution.
Cancer: A review of evidence regarding whether ambient air pollution exposure is a risk factor for cancer in 2007
found solid data to conclude that long-term exposure to PM2.5 increases the overall risk of non-accidental
mortality by 6% per a 10 microg/m3 increase.
Solutions:
Establish legally binding and regional coordinated plans to reach national air quality standards that include clear
timelines.
Cap regional coal consumption.
Hike up pollution discharging charges and strengthen supervision efforts.
De-NOx retrofit for existing coal-fired power plants.
Shutdown inefficient coal-fired industrial boilers

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GLOBAL AIR QUALITY SITUATION

The image NI-1(Left) is showing the density model (at 0.2 resolution) used for the simulation. Each "pixel", or
point on this gridded map, is considered as a pollution source. The green color is used for low density regions,
which are generating very small amount of pollution, while darker colors represent zones where both population
and generated pollution is higher.

The image NI-2(Right) is showing the concentration based on actual wind data. Note that the color coding and the
associated concentration levels is arbitrary - and can not (and should not) be associated one-to-one to AQI levels
without further work. The essential idea is to plot the zones which are more likely to have high or very high
pollutant concentration based on the wind condition forecast.

(e.g. Data generated on: March 9th 2016, 12:00:00 am UTC; Altitude: 10M; Time: Mar 14th 12:15:00; Performance: Particules
Count: 4682ms; Particules Rendering: 3/8 ms; Wind Rendering: 1ms)

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The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what
associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may
experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air.
EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone,
particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen
dioxide.
For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health
.Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human
health in this country.

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The Chart of AQI Descriptions

How Does
Air
March 9th 2016, 12:00:00
am UTC; Altitude: 10M;

Wind Affect
Pollution
March 9th 2016, 12:00:00
am UTC; Altitude: 100M;

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March 9th 2016, 12:00:00

am UTC; Altitude: 5KM;

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South wind tend to increase the pollution in Beijing: If the wind is not strong enough (i.e. not ventilating enough),
then the particules will get blocked by the mountains and will not be able to move further to the north, thus
creating a dense particule concentration in Beijing.

North wind tend to clear the pollution: When the wind blows sufficiently from the North, the air gets almost
immediately cleared since there is no "pollution source" in the north (or, at least, much less than in the south).
To be more precise, the model should include vertical wind profile, as well as the forecasting for several heights
(layers) - currently, the images is only using the forecast at 10 meters, 100 meters and 5KM. Moreover, the
pollution sources should be more complete and include the overall world sources - currently, only sources from
Hebei are included.

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GLOSSARY OF AIR POLLUTION

General Academic
Smoke [smk] n.
A visible suspension of carbon or other particles in air, typically one emitted from a burning substance;
Soot [st] n.
A black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon,produced by the incomplete
burning of organic matter;
Particulate [prtikylt, prtikylt] adj.
Of, relating to, or in the form of minute separate particles;
Fume [fjum] n.
Gas, smoke, or vapor that smells strongly or is dangerous to inhale;
Fumigation [fjume()n] v.
Apply the fumes of certain chemicals to (an area) to disinfect it or to rid it of vermin;
Dust [dst] n.
Solid materials suspended in the atmosphere by turbulence. Larger than aerosol particles;

Subject Specific
Washout [wshout, wshout] n.
Sweeping out of airborne particles by rain or snow (below cloud);
Halon [heln] n.
Any of a number of unreactive gaseous compounds of carbon with bromine and
other halogens, used in fire extinguishers, but now known to damage the ozone layer;
Turbid [tbd] adj.
Having sediment or foreign particles stirred up or suspended;
Coalscene [kles] n.

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Come together and form one mass or whole;
Afforest [frst, frst] v.
Convert (land) into forest, especially for commercial use;

Airshed [d] n.
An area where the movement of air tends to be limited to the bounds of that area, as a result of specific
geographical or meteorological conditions;

Terminology
Chlorofluorocarbons [klr()flr()kb()n] n.
Any of a class of compounds of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine, typically
gases used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants; They are harmful to the ozone layer;
Halon [heln] n.
Any of a number of unreactive gaseous compounds of carbon with bromine and
other halogens, used in fire extinguishers, but now known to damage the ozone layer

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