Air conservation
...d other constituents of photochemical smog. 3. How do vehicles pollute? a. Carbon Monoxide Traffic congestion increases the local concentration of carbon monoxide , a colorless, odorless, tasteless, poisonous gas. About 90 percent of the carbon monoxide in urban areas comes from vehicles. If inhaled, the gas restricts the blood's hemoglobin from carrying oxygen to the heart and brain, causing dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, and breathing difficulties. b. Ozone Ozone is a respiratory irritant. In high enough concentrations it can cause or or bring on asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and other respiratory ailments. Even in fairly low concentrations it can harm infants and older people. Ozone is thought to worsen the effects of acid rain and can slow plant growth and damage leaves. c. Nitrogen Oxides Nitrogen oxides, a colorless gas from vehicle exhaust, and nitrogen dioxide, which causes the red-brown haze of urban pollution. In 1990 Florida was the country's eighth largest nitrogen oxide emitter. Vehicles produce about 50 percent, utilities about 35 percent, and other industrial sources 5 to 10 percent. II. Where does the pollution come from? 1. Floridas Power Plants and Industries Contribution to air pollution a. Floridas pollution from Industry Florida's power plants and industries generate much of the state's air pollution, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and toxic chemicals such as solvents, dioxins, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons. In 1988, the defense industry, manufacturing plants, pulp and paper mills, chemical companies, and phosphate plants reported releasing 53 million pounds of toxic substances into Florida's air. In 1990, the state's power plants produced 700,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, the tenth worst rate in the country. b. Sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide is a major constituent of acid rain, and in heavy concentrations it is lethal. Lower exposures can cause chronic respiratory problems, especially when combined with particulate pollution. A study in Jacksonville found that there may be a link between sulfur dioxide and sulfates in the air and lung cancer rates. Sulfur dioxide can also damage plants and materials. c. Acid rain Acid rain is caused mainly by sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants and vehicles. For many years it was thought that acid rain's effects were minimal in Florida, and that the problem mainly affected North F...