Air Quality and Solid Waste Divisions, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Mecklenburg Utilities

Sponsored by the Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business at UNC Charlotte, The Environmental Corner is designed to serve as an environmental management and pollution prevention resource

Summer 2007

NOx, Ozone, and Particulate Matter  

Introduction

You could go days without food and hours without water, but you would last only a few minutes without air. On average, each of us breathes over 3,000 gallons of air each day. You must have air to live. However, did you know that breathing polluted air can make you sick?

Air pollution can damage trees, crops, other plants, lakes, and animals. In addition to damaging the natural environment, air pollution also damages buildings, monuments, and statues. It not only reduces how far you can see in national parks and cities, it even interferes with aviation.

This edition of the newsletter highlights three particular contaminants that affect our region’s daily air quality.  And, most importantly, we are pleased to announce that there is financial assistance to businesses to replace or retrofit diesel engines and reduce the amount of air pollution.

Source: http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/concern.html

Top of page

Clean GRADE Grants Available to Upgrade Diesel Equipment

Mecklenburg County Air Quality is announcing the Clean Grants to Replace Aging Diesel Engines (Clean GRADE) Project.  Businesses are invited to apply for funding to pay for replacing aging construction equipment, repowering old equipment with a new engine, or retrofitting equipment with auxiliary pollution control devices.  This project specifically targets Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) that contribute to the ozone problem in the Charlotte region. Any company that operates off-road construction equipment in the Charlotte Non-Attainment Region is eligible for funding to clean up that equipment. 

For more information contact the Mecklenburg County Air Quality Mobile Sources Group at 704-336-5500.  This project is funded by Mecklenburg County and the North Carolina Division of Air Quality.

Learn more about the National Diesel Clean Up EPA Program at http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/index.htm

Health and Environmental Impacts of NOx
NOx causes a wide variety of health and environmental impacts because of various compounds and derivatives in the family of nitrogen oxides, including nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid, nitrous oxide, nitrates, and nitric oxide.

Top of page

NOx

• is one of the main ingredients involved in the formation of ground-level ozone, which can trigger serious respiratory problems.
• reacts to form nitrate particles, acid aerosols, as well as NO2, which also cause respiratory problems.
• contributes to formation of acid rain.
• contributes to nutrient overload that deteriorates water quality.
• contributes to atmospheric particles, that cause visibility impairment most noticeable in national parks.
• reacts to form toxic chemicals.
• contributes to global warming.

news.umr.edu

NOx and the pollutants formed from NOx can be transported over long distances, following the pattern of prevailing winds in the U.S. This means that problems associated with NOx are not confined to areas where NOx are emitted. Therefore, controlling NOx is often most effective if done from a regional perspective, rather than focusing on sources in one local area.

Source: http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/nox/index.html

Nitrogen oxides form when fuel is burned at high temperatures, as in a combustion process. The primary manmade sources of NOx are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other industrial, commercial, and residential sources that burn fuels. NOx can also be formed naturally.

	http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/nox/what.html

Top of page

Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act

The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act provides a brief introduction to the 1990 Clean Air Act. The 1990 Clean Air Act is the most recent version of a law first passed in 1970 to clean up air pollution. This summary covers some of the important provisions of the 1990 Clean Air Act and may help you understand what is in the law and how it may affect you. If you would like to learn more about the1990 Clean Air Act, visit www.epa.gov/air/caa/.

Source: http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/index.html

Top of page

Ozone

Ozone is a molecule comprised of three oxygen atoms linked together. Stratospheric ozone provides a vital protective shield against the sun's ultraviolet radiation and occurs naturally in the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Tropospheric ozone, in contrast, can be extremely harmful to human health and the environment as it becomes a major pollutant when created at ground level.

Ozone is not emitted directly into the environment. It is produced by a complex chemical reaction when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of sunlight. NOx is produced when cars and trucks, electric power plants and industrial processes burn fossil fuels. VOC's are unstable and easily-evaporated organic compounds present in vehicle exhaust, paint fumes, and industrial process waste. The interactions between these two chemicals create ozone pollution, the primary harmful ingredient in urban smog.

	Nitrogen Oxides contribution to Ozone formation

Weather conditions are critical to ozone formation, which is greatest during the summer, when long hours of sunlight and high temperatures speed the photochemical reactions that produce ozone. These chemical reactions take place while the pollutants are being blown through the air by wind. What this means is that ozone pollution can be far more severe many miles away from the original power plant or mobile source sites that generates the NOx precursors. As a result, tall smokestacks and congested interstates that emit NOx can contribute to air pollution build-up in downwind states located hundreds of miles away.

Health Effects

·        Chest pain

·        Coughing

·        Wheezing

·        Pulmonary and nasal congestion

·        Labored breathing

·        Increased airway permeability and airway inflammation

·        Faster breathing rates in athletes (the faster the breathing rate, the greater the amount of ozone that can penetrate the respiratory tract)

·        Reduced resistance to infections.

People most at risk for problems associated with ozone are children playing outside, people with existing lung disease, healthy adults exerting themselves outside, and athletes exercising outdoors.  The elderly are often susceptible due to pre-existing lung problems. 

Source:  http://www.vcapcd.org/health.htm#ozone

Top of page

Particulate Matter

Particulate matter is the sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in air, many of which are hazardous. This complex mixture contains for instance dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. More...

Particles in air are either:

• directly emitted, for instance when fuel is burnt and when dust is carried by wind, or
   
• indirectly formed, when gaseous pollutants previously emitted to air turn into particulate matter.

EPA regulates inhalable particles (PM2.5 - fine and PM10 inhalable coarse). Particles larger than 10 micrometers (sand and large dust) are not regulated by EPA.

Read More about PM and Health Effects at http://www.epa.gov/oar/particlepollution/pdfs/pm-color.pdf

Health Effects

• Health: Particle pollution contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Small particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream. More information about health.

• Visibility: Fine particles (PM2.5) are the major cause of reduced visibility (haze) in parts of the United States, including many of our treasured national parks and wilderness areas. More information about visibility.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an example of one area with haze

Clear Day


Hazy Day

Real Time Image
Source:  http://www.epa.gov/visibility/ 

Read more about Haze at http://www.epa.gov/visibility/pdfs/haze_brochure_20060426.pdf

• Reducing particle pollution: EPA’s national and regional rules to reduce emissions of pollutants that form particle pollution will help state and local governments meet the Agency’s national air quality standards. More information about reducing particle pollution.
   

See the Fast Facts page for a quick summary of particle pollution basics.

Top of page

Control Measures

Over the next decade, EPA will require many sources to take action to control emissions of PM and PM precursors. In many cases, these actions will include the installation and operation of air pollution control technologies. In some cases, the most effective approach will be to control several pollutants with a single air pollution control system. EPA's National Risk Management Research Laboratory is evaluating the costs and performance of some of the most promising control technologies to provide industries, EPA, and state regulators with the best possible information on what to expect from these technologies. Up-to-date information on installation and operating costs, levels of pollutant reduction, and potential adverse side effects (such as residue disposal) will allow both regulators and users to make informed decisions on how to most efficiently achieve EPA's air quality standards.

• National Risk Management Research Laboratory

Top of page

ACTION

People cannot choose the air they breathe, but they can choose cleaner and more efficient energy sources for home heating and cooling, transportation, and appliances. Carpooling, recycling, maintaining automobiles, and insulating homes can make a big difference. Perhaps the most significant action an individual can take is to limit the use of fireplaces and wood burning stoves. Finally, citizen support for clean air programs can help counter industry pressure to weaken the Clean Air Act.

Other Sources listing action steps:

http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/index.html

http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/reduce.html

http://www.epa.gov/appcdwww/aptb/

Top of page

Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business

The Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business provides non-regulatory, client-confidential pollution prevention assistance to small businesses in the greater Charlotte region. The EAO is designed to assist regional businesses in their efforts to voluntarily prevent pollution. The EAO staff can provide timely assistance for pollution prevention planning, including information about industry-specific case studies, waste-specific case studies, and new technologies. The office provides links of resources to needs between the region's business community, government, municipality, and university. If there is a particular issue or question you would like to see in an upcoming edition, please send an e-mail to EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu

Contact Information:

Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business:

9201 University City Blvd. 258 Cameron Building, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28233-0001

Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115

Email: EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu

Services:

• Assistance with Air Permits - Assistance for small businesses in completing paperwork for EPA air permits.

• Educational Materials - Educational pamphlet, brochures, flyers, and other materials to relate facts on pollution prevention.

• Educational Outreach - Develop educational outreach campaigns and presentations for the public or employee training.

• University Resources - Library information, faculty expertise, student projects and research at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

Top of page