Air pollutant

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Fire in the spoil dump of the Messel oil shale mine (approx. 1955)

An air pollutant is an admixture in the air that can endanger both human health and the biosphere . Colloquially, the term air pollution is used for the introduction of air pollutants into the outside air . The origin of an air pollutant can be natural (e.g. sulfur dioxide, SO 2 , from volcanoes ) or anthropogenic (caused by humans). Air pollutants that pose a health risk worldwide include particulate matter , ozone and nitrogen dioxide .

background

Air pollutants can be divided into primary and secondary pollutants. Primary pollutants act without chemical conversion in the atmosphere, secondary pollutants undergo a chemical conversion during transmission to the place of action.

Air pollutants are primarily carried into the lowest layer of the atmosphere ( troposphere ) and can also be transported from there to higher layers.

Selection of important air pollutants

Trend in air pollutant emissions in Germany since 1990

The German Federal Environment Agency lists the following "classic" air pollutants:

This list is supplemented by the fractions Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) and Heavy Metals . The Austrian Federal Environment Agency is expanding the list of the aforementioned to include benzo (a) pyrene , benzene and ozone .

Effects of air pollutants

Smog in New York City 1988
Air over Beijing on a day in August 2005 after the rain (left) and on a sunny day with smog two days earlier (right)

To what extent a substance has a harmful effect on the environment depends on various factors. The ozone in the stratosphere reduces the radiation of UV-B , which can cause skin damage such as sunburn in humans , while the same substance can cause irritation of the mucous membranes near the ground. In addition, ozone in the outside air leads to damage to materials such as elastomers .

The acidification of precipitation, known as acid rain since the 19th century, can primarily be traced back to the anthropogenic emission of the air pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. One of the consequences of this acid rain is the acidification of Scandinavian freshwater lakes, which are only weakly buffered .

Smog is the result of an increased concentration of air pollutants (especially sulfur dioxide and airborne dust ) and can lead to significant health problems and even death, especially for people with respiratory diseases. Corresponding cases are u. a. documented for London , where there was a significant increase in mortality .

Air pollutants also damage plants - this can be done either directly through contact with needles or leaves or indirectly through a change in soil properties - as well as buildings.

Indoor air pollutants can lead to chronic illnesses. This is largely responsible for outgassing from building materials, furnishings and other interior construction materials. But they can also be caused by the residents (cigarette smoke, dust, solvents). In public buildings, a pollutant remediation is prescribed from certain loads .

Human organ systems affected by air pollutants
  • Respiratory tract (respiratory diseases, lung cancer, decreased lung function, decreased lung growth)
  • Pancreas (insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, bone metabolism)
  • Blood and circulation (high blood pressure, increased blood clotting, thrombosis)
  • Brain (stroke, mental illness, impaired child brain development, neurodegenerative diseases)
  • Heart (cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure)
  • Skin (skin aging)
  • Embryo and reproduction (premature birth, growth disorders, preeclampia, reduced sperm quality)

Anthropogenic sources

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, human activities lead to significant emissions ( emission ) of air pollutants. Important sources of air pollutants are industrial plants, power plants, road traffic and, increasingly, air traffic . When fossil and biogenic fuels are burned, not only carbon dioxide but also air pollutants are released. The production, storage, use and transport of certain substances also contribute to air pollution. Agriculture causes the emission of ammonia and the greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane through animal husbandry and the application of nitrogen fertilizers .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ VDI 3782 sheet 7: 2003-11 environmental meteorology ; Vehicle emissions determination; Air pollution (Environmental meteorology; Determination of the emission from motor vehicles; Air pollution). Beuth Verlag, Berlin. P. 9.
  2. ^ A b Franz Joseph Dreyhaupt (Ed.): VDI-Lexikon Umwelttechnik. VDI-Verlag Düsseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-18-400891-6 , pp. 782-784.
  3. ^ Federal Environment Agency: Emissions development 1990 - 2014 for classic air pollutants , accessed on February 1, 2017
  4. ↑ Umweltbundesamt: Emissions of air pollutants , accessed on February 1, 2017
  5. ↑ Federal Environment Agency: Air Pollutants , accessed on February 1, 2017
  6. ^ Franz Joseph Dreyhaupt (ed.): VDI-Lexikon Umwelttechnik. VDI-Verlag Düsseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-18-400891-6 , p. 890.
  7. ↑ Thomas Gauger, Thomas Reichert: Tropospheric ozone - effects on materials. In: Hazardous substances - cleanliness. Air . 71, No. 11/12, 2011, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 513-518.
  8. ^ A b Franz Joseph Dreyhaupt (Ed.): VDI-Lexikon Umwelttechnik. VDI-Verlag Düsseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-18-400891-6 , pp. 1014-1016.
  9. ^ Franz Joseph Dreyhaupt (ed.): VDI-Lexikon Umwelttechnik. VDI-Verlag Düsseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-18-400891-6 , p. 1081.
  10. ↑ Jutta Köhler, Joachim Nittka, Michael Außenendorf, Ludwig Peichl: Long-term observation of immission effects - 30 years of bioindication in Bavaria. In: Hazardous substances - cleanliness. Air. 68, No. 6, 2008, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 227-234.
  11. ↑ Hans Jürgen Buschmann, Jörg Brandes, Vahid Ameri Dehabati, Jochen S. Gutmann: Indoor air - new possibilities for reducing pollution. In: Hazardous substances - cleanliness. Air. 74, No. 10, 2014, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 421-425.
  12. ^ Karsten Mohr: Biomonitoring of nitrogen deposition with mosses. In: Hazardous substances - cleanliness. Air. 74, No. 6, 2014, ISSN  0949-8036 , pp. 263-265.
  13. ↑ Federal Office for the Environment: Agriculture as a source of air pollutants. In: bafu.admin.ch . Retrieved February 21, 2020 .