ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. Sustainable Energy Options. UAU212F Spring Throstur Thorsteinsson 1. Terminology

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1 Sustainable Energy Options UAU212F ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Throstur Thorsteinsson Terminology Pollution: refers to the occurrence of an unwanted change in the environment caused by the introduction of harmful materials - introduced through a) Point Sources b) Area Sources c) Mobile Sources Contamination: making something unfit for a particular use through the introduction of an undesirable material. Toxicity: Materials that are poisonous to living things. Carcinogen: a type of toxin that increases the risk of cancer. Synergism: the interaction of different substances resulting in a total effect greater than the sum of the effects of the separate sources. Categories of Pollutants Infectious Agents Toxic Heavy Metals Organic Compounds Radiation Thermal Pollution Particulates Asbestos Electromagnetic Fields Noise Pollution Toxic Heavy Metals High atomic weight Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, Nikkel, Gold, arsenic, selenium, chromium, tallium Been around since the stone age Stored in living tissue accumulate over time biomagification in tissue. 10% of energy moved, but 100% of THM. Toxic Heavy Metals Biomagnification Biomagnifications: the accumulation or increase in concentration of a substance in living tissue (e.g. fatty tissue) as it moves through a food web. Body burden: the quantity of metals that is toxic to humans. Drinking water inorganic mercury Maximum contaminant level: 2 ppb (0.002 mg/l) Pathways: Cadmium from burning coal. is absorbed by plants from ash. Concentration increases from ash to plant to humans Mercury from burning coal, processing metals Goes into waterways and is methylated by bacteria creating Methyl mercury (CH3HG). Absorbed by fish Concentration increases up food chain Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 1

2 Radiation and thermal pollution Radiation: Radiation from nuclear power plants Natural radiation Thermal pollution Heat released into water Changes average water temp and dissolved oxygen causing changes in biota Particulates Electromagnetic fields Small particles of dust Asbestos Soot Road dust Cause respiratory illnesses, cancer etc. Depending on type. Size matters the smaller the more dangerous Radiation from electromagnetic fields Power lines Cell phones Appliances TV s No conclusive link to heath effects. Noise Pollution General Effects of Pollutants Defined as unwanted sound Intensity measured in decibels (db) Average level at home 45 db Jet engine taking off 120 db Hearing loss 110 db But what really is noise pollution? Anything above 80 db is potentially dangerous. Changes in Abundance Changes in Distribution Changes in Birth Rates Changes in Death Rates Changes in Growth Rates Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 2

3 Precautionary Principle The idea that in spite of the fact that full scientific certainty is often not available to prove cause and effect, we should still take cost-effective precautions to solve environmental problems where there exists a threat of potentially serious and/ or irreversible environmental damage Very brief POLLUTION HISTORY Houses of Parliament, London - Sun breaking through the fog (Claude Monet, 1904) Pittsburg Victorian times - London Pittsburg, USA in Beijing 2008 Around the Olympics in 2008 a lot of concern regarding air pollution Two major historic events Two event changed people s awareness for air quality Donora, W-Pennsilavania 1948 London in 1952 The killer fog Cairo smog Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 3

4 Donora Donora 1910 Zinc plant At least 21 people died due to this pollution event 1948 Donora Zinc Works of the American Steel and Wire Company is dimly seen through fume-laden smoke and fog in Donora The killer smog Nurses Betty Tropak and Eleanor Novak supervise oxygen treatment for two of forty persons hospitalized by fume-laden smoke and fog. Occurred in London in December Coal ovens caused the pollution, which lasted for a week. Visibility was only a few meters, SO 2 levels rose to 7x the normal level, CO to 2x the normal level London 1952 Air pollution HEALTH EFFECTS Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 4

5 Coughing Astma Lung damage Cardiovascular disease... Health effects Life expectency is reduced by 400 days due to smoking 40 days due to traffic accidents 60 days due to PM pollution Ref: C. Johansson (2005) Small particles can travel deep down into the lungs Health effects Soot in bronchiloe Some headlines Exposure to ambient particulate matter and cigarette smoke linked with increased mortality risk Dust linked to health problems Air pollution reduces lung function Air pollution linked to early form of dementia It is thought the fine particles in air pollution can pass through the lungs and lodge in the brain where they cause inflammation which is associated with dementia Throstur Thorsteinsson 5

6 Headlines continued Air pollution could boost blood pressure Polluted air impairs neurons that regulate heart rate in mice Air Pollution Regional, Local Throstur Thorsteinsson Air quality / quality of life Air pollution Presence of substances in high enough levels to threaten health, survival or activities of humans or others Sources Natural Anthropogenic And this little warning light flashes when the air outside becomes too polluted to breathe. Impact Local Transboundary Environmental impact where does the cost come from? Recovery: damage to fragile ecosystems, water and air pollution, and waste disposal Refining: soil, water and air pollution Delivery and Use: energy to power automobiles, produce electricity, etc. Environmental impact Household Scale Carbon monoxide Local (community) Scale Fuel-derived air pollution/urban pollution. Electric Power sector - particles, NOx and SOx, lead e.g. Local pollution Car exhaust - Small particles, NOx, SOx, VOC - Smog Oil Spills: impact on water and terrestrial ecosystems, very difficult to clean. Local impact from extraction Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 6

7 Env. impact Stationary and Mobile Sources of Air Pollution Regional scale Acid Rain Global Scale Climate change Two Sources of Air Pollution 1. Stationary Sources: have a relatively fixed location Point Sources Area Sources Fugitive sources (from pressurized equipment) 2. Mobile Sources: move from place to place while emitting pollutants Ex. Airplanes, vehicles General Effects of Air Pollution Dynamics of air pollution Visual quality of the environment Discoloration, clarity Health of Vegetation, Animals, Soil Water Quality Acidity, heavy metals Natural and Artificial Structures Human Health (dose response) Indoor, outdoor How does concentration change? Transport Transboundary pollutants Dilution Mixing in the atmosphere Transformation Physical, chemical, photochemical Removal Rainout, washout, fallout Modelling transport of pollutants Gaussian Plume Gaussian Plume Is the most accepted computational approach to calculating the concentration of a pollutant at a certain point. Describes the transport and mixing of the pollutants. It assumes dispersion in the horizontal and vertical direction will take the form of a normal Gaussian curve with the maximum concentration at the center of the plume. Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 7

8 Primary vs. Secondary Pollutants Major Local and Transboundary Air Pollutants Primary Pollutants Those emitted directly into the air S0 2, CO, Hydrocarbons, particulates Secondary Pollutants Produced through reactions between primary pollutants and normal atmospheric compounds Ozone, Acid rain Sulfur Dioxide Nitrogen Oxide Carbon Monoxide Ozone and Other Photochemical Oxidants Volatile Organic Compounds Particulate Matter Hydrogen Sulfide Hydrogen Fluoride Sulfur Dioxide Transboundary Pollutants Colorless, highly corrosive and irritates the lungs, shortness of breath, narrow airways Natural sources are volcanoes, sea spray, rotting vegetation and plankton 50% of all sulfur in atmosphere is emitted from anthropogenic sources Mostly from the use of fossil fuels, coal fired power plants, industrial processes Precursor for acid rain Sulfur Dioxide Sulfur Dioxide local impact Impact depends on: Height of smokestack Weather conditions Wind Stable, unstable Precipitation Velocity exit Diameter Temperature Ambient Exhaust Impact on humans: enhances respiratory diseases. Impact on Plants: Many plants of economic importance are sensitive to sulfur dioxide including potatoes, cucumbers, peas, gladiolus, tulips, grass and several types of trees. On Visibility : Can reduce levels of visibility. Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 8

9 Acid Rain Acidity Levels High smokestacks emit SO 2 into higher layers becomes transboundary Acid rain originates from sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles that become sulfate or nitrate particles Travel long distances on wind currents By combining with water vapor, these particles form acids which fall to the earth as acid rain. Acid rain includes both wet and dry acidic deposits Precipitation with a ph lower than 5.6 is considered acidic Acid Rain Acid Rain - Impact Erodes buildings, fabrics, books etc. Visibility Damages aquatic life Releases heavy metals Alters the chemical equilibrium of soils Affects vegetation Health 2005 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Effect of SO 2 pollution Local pollutants Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 9

10 Carbon Monoxide NO X Colorless and odorless gas Sources: Natural (91%) Most released naturally by volcanic eruptions, fires, bacteria, (9%) Poorly running automobiles emit large amounts by incomplete burning Extremely toxic causes heart disease long-term, or death within an hour if concentration is 1600 ppm or more - chemical suffocation Hemoglobin in the blood is 200 times more attracted to carbon monoxide than oxygen (leading to oxygen starvation of the body) Most hazardous to human health of all criteria pollutants NO and NO 2 Sources: Emitted from burning of fossil fuels (nearly all) The impact of NO x is mostly as being a primary pollutant that acts as a secondary pollutant through its acting as a precursor to acid rain and as a major contributor to urban smog as it facilitates the creation of ozone. Other impacts: respiratory effects VOC (Volatile organic compounds) E.g. hydrocarbons, entirely made of carbon and hydrogen atoms Examples include methane, butane, propane, and octane Most emitted naturally by plant and animal emissions and decomposition (84%) Industrial activities (used as solvents)/automobiles are a source of anthropogenic VOCs (16%) Toxic, carcinogens, they react with other substances to form brown smog Ozone and other Photochemical Oxidants At the earth s surface, ozone (O 3 ) is a pollutant - it irritates the respiratory system and damages plants - Impact depends on the dose A secondary pollutant Created from atmospheric interactions between sunlight and NO x NO 2 split to NO and O, reacting with O 2 creating O 3 VOC s facilitate the reaction by enabling creation of additional NO 2 Smog A combination of the words smoke and fog Two different types of smog occur: London Smog: original meaning of smog; mixture of smoke, sulfurous particles and soot with a fog (grey) Los Angeles Smog: Photochemical smog; dry air smog with ozone, peroxyacyl nitrate (PAN) and formaldehyde (brown) Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 10

11 2005 John Wiley and Sons Publishers When Smog becomes a problem? Inversion layer (IL) In certain meteorological conditions Stable air, not much wind Sufficient emissions Downwind distance Amount of mixing due to Inversion layer Sunlight Atmospheric inversion Usually temps decline with increased height IL is when warmer air is found above cooler air High pressure areas Warm air moving down, trapping colder air Mountain effect traps the pollutants Cooler air cannot rise Polluted air gets trapped Also possibly due to valley effect, cloud cover, humidity Temperature inversion Dry adiabatic lapse rate: 1 C colder for every 100 m. Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 11

12 Smog Temperature inversion Example from Scotland. EPA Air Quality Index Hydrogen Sulfide Method to convay information to the public H 2 S Highly toxic, corrosive, has a rotten egg odour Sources: Natural: Geysers, volcanoes Anthropogenic: Petroleum production (as an additive) Metal smelters Paper mills Geothermal power plants Hydrogen Fluoride Is toxic even in small amounts Impact on plants and foraging animals Sources: Petroleum refining, aluminum production, glass making Air quality SOURCES OF PARTICULATE MATTER Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 12

13 Period (days) d18o NO x 30-min ( g m -3 ) Before Burning of coals Common sources of PM Claude Monet Now Traffic Industry Fires Dust storms More... Sources of PM Brakes 2% Salt 11% Reykjavik PM 10 Soot 7% Similar in Stockholm, but energy instead of dust. Dust 25% Road wear 55% Houses of Parliament, London, Sun Breaking Through the Fog, 1904 UK domestic (coal combustion) 23%, industry 18%, and transport 28%. Ref. Bryndís Skúladóttir et al Traffic a complicated mess Traffic Many sources Poorly constrained Values in literature (mg km -1 ) Tires: Brakes: Emission: 1 18 (petrol) (diesel) Road wear: 7.5 Road studded: Traffic - the main source NO x is almost entierly due to traffic Lot less dependent on rain, humidity, than PM So, can use it to estimate traffic a) d18o (func of time) Day of Time (year) b) d18o Wavelet Power Spectrum NO x GRE 2006 Strong daily variation Time (days) Accounting GHG Energy use as a fuel collected for each sector Activity variables collected for each sector such as aluminum production or amount of waste Fractional shares in 2007 Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 13

14 Transportation fuels Human influence on the atmosphere GHG - Energy - Iceland Energy authority collects data on energy use by type and user UST estimates emissions of CO2 based on carbon and energy content of each fuel. Emissions of other GHG a function of use conditions,equipment and technologies GHG Transportation - Iceland Energy authority collects data on energy use by type and user UST estimates emissions of CO2 based on carbon and energy content of each fuel. Emissions of other GHG a function of use conditions, equipment and technologies BP Oil spills Environment Number of oil spills # Volume of oil spilled 10 6 l Volume of oil unrecovered 10 6 l Direct CO2 Mte Indirect CO2 Mte Direct methane Mte Direct GHG Mte CO2e Flaring (E&P) kte hydrocarbon Customer emissions Mte CO Env. and safety fines $ million Environmental expenditure $ million Land use Visual effects Energy related pollution More Throstur Thorsteinsson (ThrosturTh@hi.is) 14