experiments about air pollution

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8 Student Experiments to Measure Air Quality

As pollution is becoming more rampant worldwide, educators are deeply encouraged to teach students about the science of pollution and what they can do to care for the environment. From the release of greenhouse gases, worsening climate change, and burning of fossil fuels, the rate at which pollutants are produced is unprecedented. Hence, we have suggested 8 experimental ideas that teachers can use to actively involve their students to measure air quality. These ideas range from qualitative to quantitative methods and promote active discussion on which type of method would prove the most effective in producing reliable data. By measuring air quality, students can make sense of the different standards of air quality and recognize when it becomes appropriate to mitigate their effects. Without further ado, let’s jump into it!

PM 2.5 Meter

Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 refers to particles or compounds which spans less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. They are fine particles that are commonly produced from factories, vehicle exhaust, burning of crops or volcanic eruptions. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of these particles can put people at risk of developing respiratory illnesses, inflammation, trigger asthma and can even lead to lung cancer.

There are many types of PM 2.5 meters in the market, with some of them capable of measuring other types of pollutants as well. PM 2.5 is most commonly measured in units of µg/m3 (micrograms per meter cubed), or through AQI measurements (meter below ).

Depending on the meter you purchase, it may display either one of the units of measurement. However, keep in mind that the two measurements are not directly proportional to each other as measurements in µg/m3 are representative of the actual amount of PM in the area whereas AQI measurements are subjective to the air quality standards that have been internationally agreed upon for your particular region. This difference in proportionality is represented in the following graph :

Having a corresponding AQI level alongside PM2.5 measurements can help students measure the precise amount of PM2.5 in a certain area and use them to determine the quality of the air. Students could measure air quality in different areas, comparing the results obtained and discuss the probable causes and sources of PM from the location. It is also a great way to measure quantitative values that are useful for writing scientific reports while reinforcing the numbers with a qualitative interpretation of the air quality.

You could perform these measurements with your students for a variety of experiments. For example, by comparing the PM measurements from outdoor areas to indoors, students would become aware of the differences in air quality and discuss the possible outdoor/indoor pollutants that may cause one to have higher PM levels than the other. Another great experiment would be to compare the PM levels of rooms that use purifiers and those that do not. This would demonstrate the effectiveness of air purifiers to students and how they are beneficial to maintaining their general wellbeing.

The following graph compares the different levels of PM 2.5 and US AQI PM 2.5 measurements provided by sarta.innovations2019.org :

Blue Sky Test

The color of the sky is a reliable qualitative method to measure air quality. The color can change due to airborne particles that reflect and refract light. For example, a blue sky would indicate little to no air pollution whereas bright red ones are a result of heavy pollution.

The University of Southern California developed an algorithm through its mobile sensing project to measure the air quality by analyzing pictures of the sky taken from the Android app that they created. The pictures that would be taken would take into account the user’s location, orientation, time taken and transfer the data collected into their server. It would calibrate the image and compare it with their own model of the sky.

Although their app isn’t officially listed in the Play Store, all you have to do is click this link from your Android mobile device and click ‘Download Android App’ on from their website. If your phone is preventing the download, click here to find out more about installing APK files on your phone.

Mountain Visibility Test

Similar to the blue sky test, checking the visibility of mountains, or a large construction that can be seen from a long distance is also a qualitative indicator for air pollution. When we see places that are more polluted, we easily recognize the thick haze and dust that clearly obscures the view. But if we live in a polluted area, a clear view of mountains or other constructions may seem foreign in comparison as demonstrated from the following pictures provided by the US National Park Service :

This method measures visibility as an indicator of air pollution. A great idea is to get in touch with schools from different areas to see if they would like to collaborate to gather picture samples of their view. This way, teachers could show their students what mountains or distant constructions from various places look like. This can prompt a discussion about why some areas are more visible than others while explaining how air pollution impacts the view.

Students could also compare the images with public available AQI data from the region and see if there is a direct correlation between the AQI and visibility. Using the previous AQI Index table, students would be able to understand the different standards of air quality and associate it to qualitative observations on their surrounding environment. Furthermore, you could perform this experiment using AQI websites such as AirVisual or aqicn.org to identify the AQI values of different locations worldwide and compare it with images of landmarks in a particular country from which students could effectively assess the visibility.

This is a simple and easy qualitative analysis that can be performed anywhere in the world. However, it is advisable to make observations in the morning when there is the least fog and other factors impacting visibility .

Sticky Tape Method

Although the most dangerous particles are smaller in size, it is still a good indicator of air pollution to also measure the amount of larger particles such as dust, soot, dirt, smoke that can be potentially seen.

The sticky tape method is very simple, all you have to do is cut a small piece of transparent sticky tape and attach it to the bark of a tree or the surface of a building. Leave it for 10 seconds to let any PM on the surface stick onto the tape, peel the tape off and stick it onto a piece of paper. Students should be advised to label the time and location at which they took the sample.

Students could perform experiments by either collecting tape samples in the same location over different periods of time or taking samples in different locations at a certain period of time depending on their chosen independent and dependent variables. They can make qualitative observations of how PM levels change in different times and locations. This can be expanded by discussing the possible reasons as to why some areas or times have more PM in the air than others.

Lichen Observation & App

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a gas with a pungent scent which is known to be harmful towards our health. It is mostly generated from the burning of fossil fuels from industrial processes such as the generation of electricity from burning coal. It reacts to evaporated moisture in the air to produce several acidic compounds such as sulfuric acid, which can cause acid rain when dissolved in rainwater, leading to the acidification of forests.

Nitrogen can also be an overlooked pollutant as it is a common constituent in fertilizers and organic waste from households and sewage. When they have washed away into water bodies, it increases the acidity of the water, causing numerous wildlife deaths and disrupting the ecosystem. Like sulfur dioxide, it also causes acid rain when neutral nitrogen particles react with lightning in the air and mix with rainwater.

Lichen is an effective bio-indicator of sulfur and nitrogen pollutants. If lichen is a naturally occurring substance in your area, it will not be present if they are in the air and there would be green algae in its place. Many more species can act as a bioindicator for particular pollutants depending on vegetation that are sensitive or tolerant to them. A massive study was conducted using lichens to measure the air quality throughout the UK by the OPAL Air Survey .

The study conducted modeled the relationship between lichens as a bioindicator, nitrogenous pollutants, and their climate. Furthermore, the data was easily collected by everyday citizens throughout the UK and can be performed as school experiments as well. The map of the UK on the left demonstrated the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) around the country while the one on the right referred to NHx radicals such as ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4), which can cause ammonia pollution. The following image is their result:

The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology developed the Lichen Web-App , which provides guidelines on how to identify what type of lichen is suitable for testing, how to perform chemical tests on them and a comprehensive list of different species that are sensitive or tolerant towards nitrogen. It also enables you to track and record any trunks and branches that have lichens on them. They also created a measurement system called Nitrogen Air Quality Index (NAQI) to accurately associate the different levels of nitrogen to indicate their corresponding level of air quality.

Students could emulate this study on a much smaller scale and explore their environment for lichen or other similar species. This would also make them aware of how vegetation is often sensitive towards pollution.

Palmes Passive Diffusion Tubes

Nitrogen can exist in many forms, one of them being nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Nitrogen dioxide is a gaseous pollutant produced from the burning of fossil fuels such as those in power plants and vehicle exhausts. It undergoes a process in which neutral nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) particles react in high temperatures to produce nitrous oxides (NOx) including NO2, all of which can inflict respiratory conditions such as inflammation, coughing, irritations, etc. This is clearly demonstrated from the image on the right which was performed in an experiment from the University of Edinburgh.

Passive diffusion tubes are an effective long-term method to measure nitrogen dioxide. These small plastic tubes contain a mesh disc made of steel covered with a chemical called triethanolamine (TEA). If nitrogen dioxide is present and passes through the mesh, it would react with TEA and change the color and chemical composition. Diffusion tubes can measure the change in nitrogen dioxide levels over many months inside classrooms or outside your school based on how much TEA is left in the tube.

Ozone Testing Experiments

Ozone (O3) is a gas that is popularly known as a gaseous layer in the stratosphere which protects the earth from harmful UV radiation from the sun. However, ones at the troposphere are mainly the result of the chemical reactions between nitrous oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the sunlight. At high concentrations, they can cause chest pains, coughs, throat irritations and are especially harmful to those suffering from respiratory conditions such as asthma.

We can test for the presence of ozone in two different ways:

Ozone badges are very simple and can be made into different forms. All of them rely on a change in color when high concentrations of ozone are present. The badges as seen from the image are commercially produced indicators that are commonly used by workers who are required to operate in areas with elevated ozone concentrations.

For a more advanced chemical experiment, you could also perform the Schoenbein experiment. Students would require cornstarch and potassium iodide to make indicator strips that would react with ozone if present in the air, evidently turning blue or purple. According to the resulting Schoenbein number from the color scale below, we can determine the amount of ozone present in parts per billion (ppb) as seen from the following from the graph.

It is important to perform this experiment in days with low humidity (the lines from the graph represent how the Schoenbein numbers vary based on the different percentages of humidity in the air). Under these circumstances, ozone would be more likely to break apart into atmospheric oxygen. This experiment also yields the best results in the ozone season, which occurs during heated temperatures throughout the summer and in areas with high vehicle activity.

While this method is relatively safe, it is advised to perform this under the supervision of Chemistry teachers who can provide them with the chemicals and laboratory equipment needed.

Surface Wipes

Surface wipes are similar to the sticky tape method, which simply involves wiping a cotton bud on a surface to observe how much PM was released in a particular time or area. Students can compare the cotton buds that were wiped on the surfaces that are more exposed to the ones less exposed to pollutants, such as on the opposite sides of a handrail or bench. The following video is a lighthearted and entertaining experiment performed by a YouTuber from Sydney to observe the city’s air quality, which has dramatically worsened as of late due to the Australian bushfires:

Teachers and students are encouraged to be creative, improvise and innovate experiments similar to this. That way, educators could create a stimulating and critical learning environment for students to teach them about scientific research methods.

As a teacher or parent, you can choose from a myriad of creative options to teach your child how to measure air quality. Depending on their style of learning and personal preference, you can weigh the benefits of performing qualitative or quantitative methods to help them understand the state of the environment. By performing diverse experiments, they would be able to understand how different collection methods result in corresponding data types. After experimenting with multiple methods, they can then determine which type would be the most suitable to fulfill the research’s purpose. We hope that these experiments would be able to pique their curiosity and encourage them to make meaningful discussions about the health effects and environmental impacts of air pollution!

by Carisa A. Feb 16, 2020

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Science Experiments for Kids: Learning About Air Pollution

No matter where you live, it’s important to stay alert when it comes to increasing air pollution or allergy triggers as a result of your community’s air quality. Even more important: Teaching children about these concepts, their health impacts, and how they can fight back!

This science experiment for kids will help them learn everything they need to know about air quality and pollution.

Conducting an Air Pollution Experiment

We best understand difficult concepts when they can be seen physically. That’s why this science experiment for kids is a great way to show your children how things really are and what invisible threats linger in our air each day. Here’s what you need to start your air pollution experiment.

What You’ll Need

To conduct your air pollution experiment, gather the following:

• 3–4 clear, plastic plates
• A permanent marker
• Some petroleum jelly
• A roll of masking tape or pad of poster putty
• 3–4 blank pieces of paper
• A magnifying glass

Experiment How-Tos

First, take a permanent marker and label each of your clear, plastic plates with a different location in your home (bedroom, kitchen, basement, etc.)—you should choose heavily-populated areas in your home for an accurate look at your Indoor Air Quality. Or go above and beyond with a plate labeled ‘outside.’

Once labeled, spread a thin layer of petroleum jelly onto the surface of each of your clear plates. To be sure our air pollution experiment is fair, it’s best to use the same amount of jelly for each plate.

Then, use masking tape (or poster putty) to hang the plates on the walls of their respective rooms. After about two or three days, you can remove your plates and examine your findings. For optimal viewing, place each plate atop its own piece of blank white paper to help reveal the contaminants.

Using a magnifying glass, observe the different particles collected. The results of your air pollution experiment can help your kids better understand the importance of clean, Healthy Air!

How to Talk to Kids About Air Quality

Science experiments for kids, like the one above, can help them care more about the health of their homes, selves, and air! Children who suffer from asthma or allergies should be aware of the air around them and the consequences that exist because of increased air pollution.

By teaching your kids this air pollution experiment, they’ll understand the importance of asking an adult for help when experiencing asthma or allergy symptoms, like shortness of breath.

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How to Conduct a Simple Air Quality Experiment + FREE Printables

Looking for a simple way to visualize air quality with your kids? Try this science experiment with free printables written in English and Spanish that can be done at home or in a classroom to engage your learners in STEM and bring attention to local air pollution issues.

What is Air Quality and How is it Measured?

Air quality refers to the level of pollutants present in the air. These pollutants can be gases, particulate matter, and biological molecules that can have harmful effects on human health and the environment.

Air quality is typically measured using a network of monitoring stations that collect data on a range of pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. These monitoring stations use a variety of instruments and techniques to measure the concentration of these pollutants in the air.

Examining Air Quality with Kids: A Science Experiment

A few years ago, when wildfires were ravaging the West Coast of the United States, I decided to conduct a simple at-home air quality experiment in an effort to explain to my kids what the term “air quality” meant. I also wanted to show them the amount of particulate matter in the air, and how the amount of “dirt” varies from one location to the next.

I asked a group of parents, educators, and friends from across the U.S. to join me in this experiment, in order to compare our results to those from other parts of the country.

Free Ways to Find the Materials Needed for the Air Quality Experiment

In a continued effort to conduct science experiments as sustainably as possible, I recommend you try the following steps to collect the materials you need, prior to purchasing them new.

Ask Your Friends, Family, and Neighbors

Did your grandmother ever tell you a story about how she went to the neighbor’s house to borrow a cup of sugar? As the pace of our modern lives has increased, we have forgotten or have never known what it’s like to walk across the street to ask to borrow something. Capitalize on the kindness of your neighbors, family members, and friends, and revitalize the simple act of borrowing!

Shop Your Local Buy Nothing Group or Facebook Marketplace

If you’re missing some materials to conduct the air quality experiment, consider putting a request on your local Buy Nothing Group or Facebook Marketplace. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your request is met by others looking to declutter their homes! Another option is to stop into your local secondhand or consignment shop and see what items they have available. I have successfully shopped secondhand for science experiment materials more times than I can count. 

Check With Your Local Library

Libraries are for borrowing much more than just books! My local library continually hosts children’s activities and crafting sessions. Put a request into your librarian for extra supplies they may have left over from a workshop. My good friend Jen, editor of Honestly Modern, has written an entire series based on ways you can capitalize on your local libraries’ resources . 

Materials Needed for the Air Quality Experiment

Here is a list of supplies you’ll need to do this simple disappearing paper science experiment:

• White card-stock, poster board, paper plate or index card
• Petroleum jelly, solid coconut oil, lip balm or clear packing tape
• Magnifying glass
• Air Quality Experiment printable in English or Spanish

Instructions to Conduct the Air Quality Science Experiment

Follow these simple instructions to set-up and monitor the indoor and outdoor air quality of your learning space.

• Cut 2 three inch (7.6 cm) squares from the white card stock.
• Punch a hole in the top of each square.
• Run a string through each hole.
• Cover one side of each paper square with petroleum jelly/coconut oil.
• Take a “before” picture of each paper square.
• Hang one square inside, and the other square outside, for 5 days.
• After 5 days, take an “after” picture of each square.
• Compare both squares using a magnifying glass to estimate the total number of particles present.
• Record findings on the Air Quality Experiment printable.

Video Tutorial of the Air Quality Science Experiment

Here is a quick video tutorial to walk you and your learners through the simple steps to set up the air quality science experiment.

Explaining the Data We Collected: A Teachable Example

When my family and I conducted this experiment, we had seven other families participate with us. Eight locations were sampled for 5 days, during the week of September 14th, 2020, and the air quality index (A.Q.I.) range for each location was recorded, based on the data reported by AirNow.gov . 

Samples taken inside are labeled with an “I” and samples taken outside are labeled with an “O”. 

Understanding How Air Quality is Measured in the U.S.

In the U.S., air quality is measured on a scale known as A.Q.I., which stands for Air Quality Index.

Basically, it measures the levels of 5 major air pollutants:

• Ground level ozone (O3)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
• Airborne particles (also called Particulate Matter or PM), like soot, smoke, etc.

The Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) determines which air pollutants get monitored (and which are completely ignored) and set the standards for “acceptable” levels of each. Notice that the A.Q.I. doesn’t monitor daily lead levels in the air, even though the heavy metal is categorized as a criteria air pollutant. Instead, the EPA collects and distributes data on lead in the air on a rolling 3-month average.

The A.Q.I. does not take into account 9 other major air pollutants, such as benzene, asbestos and creosote, many of which are known human carcinogens.

What is the Air Quality Index (A.Q.I.) Used For?

The Air Quality Index is used by states to forecast the air quality for the next day. 

The scale has a range of 0-500, with a level of 50 or below registering as “good” air (posing little to no threat to human health), while anywhere from 301-500 is considered hazardous to human health.

“air-quality-index” by California Air Resources Board is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The stark contrast between the outdoor samples taken from Asheville, NC and Los Angeles, CA visually display the depletion of air quality due to the addition of smoke and soot in the air during the week of September 14th, 2020.

Free, Bilingual Air Quality Experiment Printable

For a free, downloadable lesson for this activity,  written in both English and Spanish, click on the buttons below! Spanish translation courtesy of @gogreenfortheocean .

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Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides and Online Environmental Resources for Educators

Find an array of environmental and science based lesson plans, activities and ideas below from EPA, other federal agencies and external organizations.  ​ Encontrar recursos para estudiantes y maestros.

Topics: Air | Climate Change | Ecosystems | Energy | Health | Waste | Water

Acid Rain: A Teacher's Guide   (PDF 56 pp, 4.6 MB) Lesson plan and activities from EPA for teachers on acid rain. Grades: 6-8 Type of Resource: Lesson plan

Acid Rain Student Pages Find the acid rain student pages, as well as general information for older students or adults. Grades: K-12 Type of Resource: Lesson plans and experiments

AIRNOW Get up-to-the-minute information about air pollution in your community, through a joint project from EPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service and other partners. The AIRNOW website includes maps, forecasts, and information about the health effects of air pollution. Grades: 9-12 Type of Resource: Website

AIRNOW Air Quality Resources  Find air quality curriculum materials and activities from AIRNOW, including a toolkit and workshop opportunities for teachers. Grades: K-8 Type of Resource: Curriculum guide

Measuring Air Quality Improvements from Vegetative Barriers This unit has been designed by EPA as a teaching aid on the topic of air quality; particularly, investigating the role vegetative barriers play in improving air quality for surrounding areas. Grades: K-5 Type of Resource: Lesson Plan

Carl Gets Some Rest (PDF 12 pp, 765 KB) This EPA coloring and story book, for children in pre-school through 2nd grade, teaches a simple lesson: there are many transportation alternatives to using a car. Grades: K-2 Type of Resource: Coloring Book

Creating Healthy Indoor Air Quality in Schools This EPA page provides information on indoor air quality in school buildings and how to order the Tools for Schools Action Kit. The kit shows how to carry out a practical plan of action to improve indoor air quality at little or no cost using common-sense activities and in-house staff. Grades: K-12 Type of Resource: Toolkit

EnviroAtlas Educational Materials These ready-made lesson plans can be used in formal and informal education settings and are aligned with Next Generation and State Science Standards. Grades: K-12 Type of Resource: Lesson Plans

Noise Pollution for Kids   (PDF 15 pp, 6.54 MB) This EPA booklet for your students will teach you how to identify which sounds are loud and ways to protect your hearing and health. Grades: K-5 Type of Resource: Activity book

Particulate Matter (PM) Air Sensor Kits Particle pollution known as particulate matter (PM) is one of the major air pollutants regulated by EPA to protect public health and the environment. A PM air sensor kit has been developed by EPA researchers as an educational tool to teach children about air quality and air science. Grades: 5-12 Type of Resource: Hands-on activity guide

Basic Ozone Layer Science Find a straightforward explanation of the ozone layer and ozone depletion. Grades: 9-12 Type of Resource: Website

AIRNOW's Ozone: Good Up High, Bad Nearby (PDF 4 pp) Ozone acts as a protective layer high above the Earth, but it can be harmful to breathe. This publication provides basic information about ground-level and high-altitude ozone. Grades:6-12 Type of Resource: Booklet/Brochure

Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act A brief introduction to the 1990 version of the Clean Air Act, to help you understand what is in the law and how it may affect you. Grades: 9-12 Type of Resource: Booklet

RadTown USA EPA's RadTown USA is a virtual community that aims to educate students about the sources of radiation in our daily lives. Grades: 9-12 Type of Resource: Virtual activity

Teaching Kids to Conserve Energy at Home: Resources for K-12 teachers and parents This 11-minute presentation focuses on an introduction to energy and the environment, energy saving tips, how to use the Energy Star home energy yardstick, and homework ideas. Grades: K-12 Type of Resource: Video

Village Green Project These lessons provide a unique opportunity for students to learn about air quality as it relates to various topics of science appropriate to their grade level. The purpose of these lessons is to engage students of varying ability levels through hands-on and minds-on thinking. Each lesson is designed to focus around the topic of air quality; from issues of human health to career and 21st century skills. Grades: K-8 Type of Resource: Lesson Plan (PDF)  (52 pp)

Lea en español:  ¿Por qué Coco es de color naranja?

Why is Coco Orange? Coco has a problem. He is a chameleon, but he cannot change colors, and his asthma is acting up. Read how Coco and his friends at Lizard Lick Elementary solve this mystery as they learn about air quality and how to stay healthy when the air quality is bad. Grades: Pre K-2 Type of Resource: Book

Other resources

NOAA's Education Resources Website Explore this site to find the information you need to teach students about weather, climate change, and oceans. You'll find activities, background information, and much more! Grades: 6-12

National Park Service Education Resources Classroom materials, field trip opportunities and professional development programs for educators from the National Park Service. Grades: All

Climate and Health Lesson Plan and Toolkit by The American Public Health Association This lesson adopts materials developed by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIH) to make it easy for public health professionals to guest teach at local high schools. For more resources aimed directly at teachers, see Climate Change and Human Health Lesson Plans by NIH. Grades: 9-12

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Air Pollution

Introduction: (initial observation).

Air pollution is the contamination of the air by noxious gases and minute particles of solid and liquid matter (particulates) in concentrations that endanger health. In addition to many economical and agricultural losses, air pollution is the main cause of many diseases and deaths every year. Excessive growth rate of air pollution is a major concern for many countries and scientists from all over the world are studying on causes, prevention methods and cleanup of the air pollution.

This project is an opportunity to follow the foot steps of other scientists and learn about the air pollution causes and cleanups.

This project guide contains information that you need in order to start your project. If you have any questions or need more support about this project, click on the “ Ask Question ” button on the top of this page to send me a message.

If you are new in doing science project, click on “ How to Start ” in the main page. There you will find helpful links that describe different types of science projects, scientific method, variables, hypothesis, graph, abstract and all other general basics that you need to know.  

Project advisor

Information Gathering:

Find out about air pollution. Read books, magazines or ask professionals who might know in order to learn about the causes of air pollution and methods of prevention and cleanup. Keep track of where you got your information from.

For basic general information,  encyclopedia  is a good start.

Air Pollution Control

To show how air pollution is controlled.

Grade level

6th, 7th & 8th grades

Essential Elements

(Science) 1 (A) Properly demonstrate the use of laboratory equipment; 2 (A) Observe physical and chemical properties of matter; 5 (A) Measure physical and chemical properties of matter.

At the end of the lesson the student will be able to distinguish between an electrostatic precipitator and a wet scrubber and the principles behind the operation of these control techniques.

When any product is made by industry, waste may be produced that can pollute the air. Wet scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators are two devices used to clean up the air waste stream before it enters the atmosphere.

Air contaminants are emitted into the atmosphere as particulates, aerosols, vapors, or gases. The most common methods of eliminating or reducing pollutants to an acceptable level are destroying the pollutant by thermal or catalytic combustion, changing the pollutant to a less toxic form, or collecting the pollution by use of equipment to prevent its escape into the atmosphere. Pollutant recovery may be accomplished by the use of one or more of the following:

Baghouses  – Dry particulates are trapped on filters made of cloth, paper or similar materials. Particles are shaken or blown from the filters down into a collection hopper. Baghouses are used to control air pollutants from steel mills, foundries, and other industrial furnaces and can collect more than 98 percent of the particulates. Cyclones  – Dust-laden gas is whirled very rapidly inside a collector shaped like a cylinder. The swirling motion creates centrifugal forces causing the particles to be thrown against the walls of the cylinder and to drop into a hopper. Cyclones are used for controlling pollutants from cotton gins, rock crushers, and many other industrial processes and can remove up to 95 percent of solid pollutants. Electrostatic precipitators  – By use of static electricity, they attract particles in much the same way that static electricity in clothing picks up small bits of dust and lint. Electrostatic precipitators, 98 to 99 percent effective, are used instead of baghouses when the particles are suspended in very hot gases, such as in emissions from power plants, steel and paper mills, smelters, and cement plants. Wet scrubbers  – Particulates, vapors, and gases are controlled by passing the gas stream through a liquid solution. Scrubbers are used on coal burning power plants, asphalt/concrete plants, and a variety of other facilities that emit sulfur dioxides, hydrogen sulfides, and other gases with a high water solubility. Wet scrubbers are often used for corrosive, acidic, or basic gas streams. ( Note that recovery control devices include adsorption and condenser techniques as well.)

• Which type of air cleaner would be the best for removing particles?
• Which type of air cleaner would be the best for removing waste gases?
• Does a wet scrubber clean up all of the pollutants?
• What problems are produced by having too many pollutants in the air we breathe?
• If industry is just part of the problem, what can we do to control the amount of air pollution that we cause?

Question/ Purpose:

What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement.

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate at least one of the air filtration methods. Construct a filter and show that it actually does collect or filter some pollutants.

Possible questions are:

Which filtration method is best for particle pollution? Which area has the highest amount of invisible pollutants? What are the causes of air pollution and how can it be prevented? (After identifying the cause of pollution, we can simply stop it by switching to other methods that do not cause pollution. For example if we identify fossil fuels such as coal and oil as a source of pollution, we can try using solar energy, hydroelectric energy or wind energy.) How effective is any system of air filtration?

Identify Variables:

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other. For question 1, variables are:

The independent variable (also known as manipulated variable) is the filtration method.

The dependent variable (also known as responding variable) is the amount of pollutants they filter.

Constants are the type of pollutants and filtration time.

For question 2, variables are:

The independent variable (also known as manipulated variable) is the location.

The dependent variable (also known as responding variable) is the pollution rank.

Constants are the experiment method, time and supplies.

Hypothesis:

Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis.

Sample Hypothesis:

My hypothesis is that by passing polluted air through water we can filter pollutants and produce clean air. This hypothesis is based on my observation of air freshness after a heavy rain.

Experiment Design:

Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can trust, it must have a “control.” A control is an additional experimental trial or run. It is a separate experiment, done exactly like the others. The only difference is that no experimental variables are changed. A control is a neutral “reference point” for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing anything. Dependable controls are sometimes very hard to develop. They can be the hardest part of a project. Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of experiments that includes a control is called a “controlled experiment.”

Experiment 1:

(Visible and Invisible pollutants)

Which area has the highest amount of invisible pollutants?

The atmosphere is almost completely made up of invisible gaseous substances. Most major air pollutants are also invisible, although large amounts of them concentrated in areas such as cities can be see as smog. One often visible air pollutant is particulate matter, especially when the surfaces of buildings and other structures have been exposed to it for long periods of time or when it is present in large amounts. Particulate matter is made up of tiny particles of solid matter and/or droplets of liquid. Natural sources include volcanic ash, pollen, and dust blown by the wind. Coal and oil burned by power plants and industries and diesel fuel burned by many vehicles are the chief sources of man-made particulate pollutants, but not all important sources are large scale. The use of wood in fireplaces and wood-burning stoves also produces significant amounts of particulate matter in localized areas, although the total amounts are much smaller than those from vehicles, power plants, and industries.

In this experiment we will test for visible and invisible pollutants in the air and try to tell the difference between visible and invisible air pollution.

chart paper measuring cups small glass jars large glass jars petroleum jelly 3 bean plants approximately the same size tap water vinegar vinegar-water mixture in 1 to 3 ratio pH paper or indicator

Visible Pollutants test

Smear petroleum jelly on each small jar. Carefully place each small jar inside a large jar. Decide on several places around the school or home where you think visible pollutants will occur. Make predictions about which area will have more visible pollutants and why. Record predictions in journal. Place jars in test areas for several days. Check the jars daily. Record observations in journal. Collect jars for comparison. Observe and rank the jars from the one with the most visible pollutants to the one with the least. Assign each jar a number. Discuss why certain areas have more visible pollutants than others. Mark a map showing the ranking of areas from the lowest dust to the highest dust.

Invisible Pollutants test

Sets up a bean plant garden with three containers, each container having one bean plant. Determine and compare the pH of the three solutions and predict how the plants will be affected by each solution. Record pH and predictions in journal. Plants will be watered every day with 1/8 to 1/4 cup of a solution: one plant with tap water, one plant with straight vinegar, and one plant with the vinegar-water mixture. Procedure is recorded in journal. Observe plants daily. Record in journal what happens to each plant. Sketches may be part of the observations. Compare plants and discuss observations at the end of a day, week, two weeks, or until plants die. Using the observations, write a conclusion for this experiment. Record in journal. Invisible pollutants are like acid rain. Use the result of your experiment to conclude how does acid rain affect the plants.

Research the history of acid rain. Include information on the causes of acid rain, when we first became aware of the problem, what problems have been caused by acid rain, what measures have been taken to

combat acid rain. Has the situation improved? Post a chart for the causes of visible pollutants and what can be done to prevent them.

Experiment 2: Make a electrostatic precipitator Particles (called particulate matter) can be captured before they enter the atmosphere by an electrostatic precipitator. In this experiment we use a plastic tube and black pepper to see how particles are attracted to the sides of the tube much like the pollutants are attracted in large industrial electrostatic precipitators.

Materials, Equipment, and Preparation plastic tube (fluorescent light tube) wire coat hanger plastic grocery bag electric blow dryer punch holes, black pepper or rice crispies Picture on the right shows an industrial model of electrostatic precipitator.

The electrostatic precipitator works on the principle of a static electric charge attracting particles where they are removed.

A 2-foot plastic tube in which fluorescent lights are stored can be used to simulate an electrostatic precipitator. The plastic tube can be charged by running a coat hanger with a plastic grocery bag attached to it.

(The plastic bag as it moves through the tube strips the negatively charged electrons from the inside of the tube making the overall net charge positive. Anything that has a negative charge will be attracted to the tube because opposites attract.)

Hold the tube over some punch holes, black pepper, or rice crispies. Hold an electric hair dryer so the air stream blows across the top of the tube. The air mass creates a low pressure area at the top and the greater air pressure at the bottom pushes the punch holes up the tube. (This is called Bernoulli’s Principal)

***The Results*** If the tube is charged, the punch holes will stick to the sides. This activity can be used to study static electricity. If the tube is not charged, the holes will shoot out in a spray. This activity can be used to study Bernoulli’s principle.

Experiment 3: How to Make a Wet Scrubber

Warning: This experiment requires proper equipment and expert adult supervision. Please skip this experiment without proper equipment and supervision.

The wet scrubber is one of the most common pollution control devices used by industry. It operates on a very simple principle: a polluted gas stream is brought into contact with a liquid so that the pollutants can be absorbed. In this experiment we will try to build a wet scrubber. (See diagram A)

Materials Paper towels 12-cm piece of glass Three 2.5-cm pieces of glass tubing Three 55-ml flasks Two glass impingers (glass tubing drawn at one end to give it a smaller diameter so as to let out smaller bubbles) Heat source (burner or hot plate) Three 2-hole rubber stoppers (of a size to fit the mouths of the flasks) Two 30-cm pieces of rubber tubing Ring stand apparatus Vacuum source Procedure Write your answers on a separate sheet. Set up the apparatus as shown in attached figure . Put a paper towel in a 55-ml flask and place this above the burner. Using a 2-hole stopper that makes an air-tight seal with the flask, insert a 12-cm section of glass tubing through one of the holes. The tubing should reach to approximately 1.2-cm from the bottom of the flask. Insert a 2.5-cm piece of glass tubing into the other hole of the stopper. Connect a 30-cm piece of rubber tubing to the 2.5-cm piece of glass tubing, making sure an air-tight seal exists. Fill a second 500-ml flask approximately 3/4 full of water. Using a second double-hole stopper, put a 2.5-cm piece of glass tubing into one of the holes, and insert the glass impinger into the other. Construct a third flask like the second. Connect the rubber tubing and heat the first flask (combustion chamber) until smoke appears. Put a vacuum on the third flask to draw a stream of smoke through the second flask (the wet scrubber). If smoke collects in the second flask above the water, a second scrubber can be added. Ask the students if particles are the only pollutants produced by industry. Discuss how a wet scrubber collects not only particulate matter but also captures waste gases. Demonstrate how the water scrubber works. Discuss that the white plume you see coming from a smokestack may really be steam coming from a water scrubber. After observing the wet scrubber, answer the following questions: Why does the water in the wet-scrubber change color? Why does the wet-scrubber have an impinger (in other words, why is it important for small bubbles to be formed)? What does the scrubber filter out of the air? Not filter out? Suggest ways to dispose of the pollutants that are now trapped in the water.

Materials and Equipment:

List of material can be extracted from the experiment section.

Results of Experiment (Observation):

Experiments are often done in series. A series of experiments can be done by changing one variable a different amount each time. A series of experiments is made up of separate experimental “runs.” During each run you make a measurement of how much the variable affected the system under study. For each run, a different amount of change in the variable is used. This produces a different amount of response in the system. You measure this response, or record data, in a table for this purpose. This is considered “raw data” since it has not been processed or interpreted yet. When raw data gets processed mathematically, for example, it becomes results.

Calculations:

Description

Summery of Results:

Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments.

It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to do additional experiments. Advanced levels of experimental science rely heavily on graphical and mathematical analysis of data. At this level, science becomes even more interesting and powerful.

Conclusion:

Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experiments you did.

Related Questions & Answers:

What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing experiments. You may now be able to understand or verify things that you discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more questions, which lead to additional hypothesis that need to be tested.

Possible Errors:

If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring instrument is working erratically.

If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully rethink the design of your experiments. Review each step of the procedure to find sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.

References:

List of References

It is always important for students, parents and teachers to know a good source for science related equipment and supplies they need for their science activities. Please note that many online stores for science supplies are managed by MiniScience.

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Science Project

Air Pollution Experiment

I recently did a mini unit with my students on urban ecology. We were learning about the effects of urbanization on ecosystems, and pollution and urban heat islands came up in our discussions. (You can read my blog post about urban heat islands here ). Here in Phoenix it is relatively easy to see how polluted our air is, all you have to do is drive up a hill and you will see the layer of haze that sits over our city of 1.6 million people. We discussed the health effects of air pollution and I wanted my students to have a visual of what they were breathing in. You can buy fancy (and expensive) sensors that will give you data readings of all the particles in the air, but I found an easy way for students to see the particulate matter floating around.  ​ You will need:

• Glass slides (gridded slides are ideal) 
• Cover slips
• Compound microscopes
• Petroleum jelly or double sided tape
• Cotton swabs
• Optional lab write up can be found here

Students got to choose where they wanted to leave their vasaline-covered slide for 24 hours. I had some students leave the slides in the classroom and others left their slides outside. (Tip: I had students set them in a petri dish and label them with their initials so we could track them down easier the next day. Also, if students choose to leave them outside, find a location on your school campus where they won’t get disturbed). In the next 24 hours, any particulate matter floating around will land on the slide and stick to the petroleum jelly. If you want easier cleanup, you can also try putting a piece of double sided tape on the slide instead. 

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Activity: Make Your Own Air Pollution Catcher

Breathing air is vital to our existence, but have you ever thought you might not be breathing purely clean air? This simple experiment will help you determine the amount of foreign particles in the air in a specific area and give you an idea of how “dirty” your air is.

Required Materials

• White paper plates, index cards, or cardstock
• Petroleum jelly (e.g., Vaseline)
• String or yarn
• Hole puncher ( optional )
• Magnifying glass or microscope
• Permanent black marker
• Disposable glove ( optional )
• Ballpoint pen
• Journel or notebook

Estimated Experiment Time

Step-By-Step Procedure

• Find an area in which you can hang the air pollution catcher. You can do this in your home if you’d like to find out how clean the air in your home is, or you can hang one outside in your yard or another area. It also helps to try placing one in a busier area than the other.

Important Note

Adult assistance/supervision is highly recommended when cutting and punching holes into the paper plate or cardstock paper, as well as hanging the pollution catchers in high places so they are not disturbed.

• After 3-7 days, retrieve your pollution catchers.

You will most likely find some amount of particles stuck to the pollution catcher.

• Are there a lot of particles or just a few?
• How do you think the area you’ve chosen to perform the experiment in has affected your results?
• What do you think would happen if you performed this experiment in a heavily polluted area, such as a big city or an area with known air pollution? Do you think you would find more particles stuck to the pollution catcher?
• How do you think the particles in the air affect the air quality and our ability to breathe well?
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Measuring Air Pollution – A Simple Fieldwork Experiment

In this guest blog post Dr Paul Ganderton provides guidance on completing fieldwork involving measuring air pollution. You can follow Paul on Twitter via @ecogeog .  

Fieldwork should be frequent and compulsory! There, said it! Against the mounting paperwork and issues in my system, I stand for practical work for all students as often as possible. However, we do need to be aware of the real constraints in this endeavour. As much as we’d like to spend every lesson out in the field (and imagine how much they’d learn!), we need to allow other subjects their time. Cash is a real issue as well. I’m guessing no-one’s funding has expanded to keep pace with the cost of fieldwork equipment. This is why I’ve developed a series of field experiments that are simple, cheap and effective.

Let’s get started. These are the key factors to I bear in mind at the planning stage:

• Validity – will the fieldwork give me decent data that can be seen (albeit in more sophisticated forms) in real geographical science?;
• Complexity – if the work is done remotely by students, can the instructions be unambiguous so the whole class can be confident everyone’s data are comparable?;
• Timescale – can the work be set up reasonably quickly and get decent results so students keep their enthusiasm? I like the idea of thinking fast and slow and cooking fast and slow, so why not Geography fast and slow! This one’s fast; a week’s trip gives me slow! (Both are valid but I love the quick experiment. It motivates students, gets them to realize that Geography is mostly a practical science);
• Cost – yes, I’d love the latest monitoring equipment (please) but in the real world, you don’t get the luxury and it’s crucial all students take part.

Putting this piece of fieldwork in context of these three ideas:

• This follows accurately the methods used in air pollution research. Today, remote sensors are used but the basic idea of gathering point data is very much alive;
• This experiment has been road tested loads of times. I’ve never had a student fail. I even demonstrate in class first and get them to trial setting up a unit;
• I plan this to last for about 7 days. So, students go home on holiday/half-term, set this up, forget it and bring the materials in at the start of the new term. Total student time – about 1 hour tops. About 3 lessons in class – 1 before to outline the experiment; 2 for analysis and discussion afterwards;
• Cost – borrowing from your science department and a couple of household items means your main cost is just 1 stake per student (woodwork department scrap or hardware store). Depending on your jurisdiction, about 1GBP/$2 all up.

Moving on to the fieldwork stuff:

• Equipment – for each student: 1 stake 1.5m high, ideally 20x20mm square; 4 microscope slides; enough sticky tape to bind top and bottom of the slide to the post; petroleum jelly to smear on each slide. For the analysis, an identification guide and microscope.
• Take the stake and tape one slide to one of the faces. Make sure that only about 1cm is covered top and bottom of the slide so there’s enough space for the jelly;
• Repeat for the other 3 faces. It’s important that the slides are all at the top of the stake. I’ve had students tape all four on at once. It’s not hard. If slides are glass, a quick warning about wearing gloves or taking care might be useful. Label each slide as N, S, E or W;
• On the exposed glass (not tape), smear petroleum jelly on the slide. How much? More than a smear, less than a big splodge – I suppose 0.25mm – it needs to be able to withstand a week’s weather;
• Find a spot to locate the stake. The obvious choice is in the garden, away from objects that impede air flow. Some students might live in apartments so they may have only a balcony or even just a window. No problems, just adjust as needed and use this as a case study in discussing sampling arrangements! Make sure the stake is oriented so the North-facing slide faces North etc.
• Leave alone for about 7 days if possible;
• At the end, take the slides carefully off the stake avoiding smudging the jelly. Transport the slides to school so that they are not smeared. I find taping them to a piece of cardboard is good. A lunch box where the slides are stuck to the bottom is excellent. Discuss with students how to transport their data without ruining it!
• If the work has gone well, you should have 4 slides with a variety of particles embedded in them. From this point, there are two main questions – what are the particles and how many are there?;
• For the former, there are usually only 5 common particles: pollen, dust, fibres, fly ash, diesel carbon and grit. Give students an identification guide and a microscope and get them to see how many different categories of particle they can recognize (1) . Put this in a table/spreadsheet;
• For the latter, there needs to be some common system. It’s possible to count but would take far too long and be likely erroneous (bored students!). A simpler scale is the Likert-type Scale: Absent, Rare, Uncommon, Common, Abundant. Add these labels to the table/spreadsheet;
• Take each slide in turn. Analyse the types of particles and their abundance. Put the data in the table and repeat until slides have been recorded;
• Record the location of each stake on a map (paper or electronic).
• Discussion:

At this stage, you should have 4 readings for each stake and a map detailing locations. This is the pattern – the what and where . Now we get students to find out why . At this point, you can go in any number of directions which is what makes this such a good piece of fieldwork! Here are just a few of the questions I’ve posed over the years (with suggestions for answers/discussions):

• Which direction has the most particles? (prevailing winds?)
• Which particles are most common? (pollen, suggesting countryside or diesel carbon, suggesting roads?)
• Are particles equally common on all sides or just some? (group of trees on one side?)
• Do particle counts vary in one direction (distance from roads or quarries/forests etc.?)
• Which of these particles causes most impact to (a) the environment (e.g. dust covering plants affecting photosynthesis); and (b) people (poor air quality links to asthma etc.). Get students to research this as a part of their study.
• Taking it further:

The advantage of this work is that you can take it in a number of equally valid directions:

• Critique of method – is it realistic and likely to give decent results?;
• What factors might make the results less valid?;
• What is the sampling method and how might it be improved?;
• What pollutant factors are most important in our towns and cities? Is this research equally useful in other towns/nations? Why/why not?;
• What can be done to reduce air pollution in our town?
• What are the 3 key takeaway points that you have learned? Why did you choose those 3?
• Carry out simple statistical/graphical techniques to allow comparison between sites. What pattern is shown and how can we account for it?
• Air pollution and public health is a huge study area. Students can study the impact of exhaust fumes on health and mental development , explore the issues surrounding Lead in petrol, look at exposure to pollutants on child development etc.

There we have it. A simple yet effective fieldwork item that could be used for different years/topics. It yields itself to so much analysis and interpretation. It develops citizenship and personal health ideas through appreciating the pollution level around us. Given that a bit of promotion never hurt any subject, it can be said that this approach to a topic allows you to develop an appreciation of Geography and its potential in the real world.

Dr Paul Ganderton @ecogeog

• Particle Identification. It’s easy to make a chart from Google images as was done for this blogpost. Here are some images to help you differentiate:

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Diesel/engine particles:

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Teaching AP® Science

Resources By Kristi Schertz

Air Pollution Lab- Airborne Particulates for Distance Learning

One of the best and easy-to-implement labs in my class is an air pollution lab. Traditionally, my students are in person as we use petri dishes, but this year, I came up with an at-home lab for distance learning. This lab can be used in many different courses and I use it in unit 7 for AP® Environmental Science. Click for a student version of the at-home lab . The original in-person lab can be found on this post.

At this point in my curriculum, my students have performed a controlled a experiment about soil salinization and have designed a noise pollution lab in Unit 5 so they do not need much scaffolding. This lab gives them further practice with experimental design.

Experimental design lab is essential for students to do a few times in the year, because the AP® Exam WILL have experimental design questions in the multiple choice section and on FRQ #1. It is AP Science Practice # 4: Scientific Experiments .

Materials for the Airborne Particulates At-Home Lab

• 3 index cards OR pieces of paper
• Vaseline, Chapstick, lip gloss or something else that clear and sticky
• Ruler or PDF of ruler
• Ziploc bag with toothpicks, or a sealed food container
• Magnifier on a Smartphone (Best option is a free app with magnifying glass with light, but you can also use the built-in magnifier on a phone along with a separate light source)

Day one of the air pollution lab takes about 45-60 minutes. Student lab groups brainstorm and come up with a question to test, a hypothesis, and design. They must get approval from me before making their cards.  My students have already done an experimental design lab so this process is fairly quick at this point. If this is the first experimental design lab of the year, expect this to take longer and for students to need more revision.

This lab is challenging with the constants. They can never really isolate all the variables and because of this, they will get flawed data. This is really important!!   Analyzing the weaknesses in their lab help them identify flawed experiments later on in life and on the AP® Exam. I aim to develop scientifically literature citizens.

I give students some ideas such as comparing indoor vs. outdoor particulates, front yard vs. back yard or the number of pets. Some students come up with very creative ideas outside of these suggestions.

If rain is in the forecast, make sure they don’t set out the cards in the rain (or sprinklers). Also, they need to make sure they all set out the cards on the same day for the same amount of time, because weather can influence.

After approvals, students make their cards. Students need to put one card in a sealed bag or food container as the control.

Here is a YouTube video I made showing students how to make their cards.

Day 2 of the Airborne Particulates Lab

Day 2 of the air pollution lab is several days later . With this lab, it can take a week to get enough particulates that students can see with their phone magnifiers instead of a stereoscope.

Students can download a free app “magnifying glass+ light” or they can use the built-in magnifier on their phones. If they use the built-in ones, they will need another source of bright light. Below is a screenshot of a the particulates using the app.

I provide a spreadsheet template for students to use if they wish, but they will not turn it in as I am grading their graphs. I also provide sample data and graphs as reference and a YouTube Link for how to make graphs using this google sheets template. (Click on links in this paragraph for these resources)

My students make and present posters for this air pollution lab and in distance learning, they make a google slide. Click for a template of the google slide presentation that my students fill in per group . It really helps them discuss and analyze the results. Why their hypothesis was correct or not AND more importantly, why this lab was flawed. They can never fully control all the variables and I want them to see that other factors may have influenced their results. This is the best part of the lab–learning to identify flawed experiments.

My poster template is inspired by Argument-Based Inquiry, but I have added more sections and clearer instructions.

You can also have students write a formal lab report individual or as a group as assessment as well.

Click for a poster rubric.

* AP ®  is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this site.

Kristi Schertz

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16 projects that could end air pollution around the world

Air pollution is terrible for human health and the planet. but, hopefully, the days of polluted air are numbered, all thanks to these 16 innovative global projects..

Christopher McFadden

1 ,  2

• Air pollution poses a severe risk worldwide.
• Towns and cities are choked with smog and dangerous emissions, damaging both the environment and the health of global populations.

However, we’re gradually developing ways to help solve this problem .

Air pollution is one of the banes of living in modern society. But, it turns out that we could someday end air pollution with cutting-edge technologies, government initiatives, and innovative projects. Here are some of the projects that might make a difference.

What are the leading causes of air pollution, and why is it a problem?

In short, the leading causes of air pollution are the expulsion of tiny solid and liquid particles into the atmosphere, solids such as soot, dust, and gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. These can cause harm to people if they are inhaled and can also damage the environment.

Air pollution can stem from several sources, such as domestic consumption of wood and coal, vehicle exhausts, industrial outgassing, and natural sources, such as dust and wildfires. When particles from these sources become suspended in the air, they are technically called aerosols. 

These air contaminants are particularly bad for the environment and  human health . The health effects of air pollution include symptoms like:

• Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat.
• Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and breathing difficulties.
• Existing lung and heart problems, such as asthma, are becoming worse.
• Increased risk of heart attack or even death.

ElizabethViera/Wikimedia

Air pollution also has some potentially severe effects on the environment too. Some common environmental impacts include: 

• Eutrophication.
• Poisoning of animals and plants.
• Ozone depletion in the stratosphere.
• Climate change.

For this reason, it is in everyone’s and every nation’s interest to keep track of pollutants and work to minimize their release as much as possible. The more potent aerosols are released into the atmosphere whenever fossil fuels are burned. But they also come from natural sources like volcanoes and forest fires. 

Aerosols can enter the atmosphere directly or form in the air through chemical reactions. Another seriously damaging air pollutant is ozone — the compound that constitutes the protective barrier around the Earth to stave off the worst effects of solar radiation. But when ozone reaches lower altitudes, it can be incredibly damaging to the environment and people’s health. 

Peter Griffin

According to NASA , “Ground-level ozone is created when sunlight reacts with certain chemicals that come from sources of burning fossil fuels, such as factories or car exhaust. When particles in the air combine with ozone, they create smog. Smog is a type of air pollution that looks like smoky fog and makes it difficult to see.”

Air pollution can also have a severe impact on the Earth’s climate too. Like those formerly mentioned, aerosols can directly impact how the Sun’s light hits the Earth’s surface.  Some aerosols , such as certain sulfates and nitrates, can reflect sunlight into space, while others, like black carbon, can absorb it. How these particles interact with sunlight depends entirely on physical properties like color and composition. 

Generally speaking, according to NASA , “Bright-colored or translucent particles tend to reflect radiation in all directions and back towards space. Darker aerosols can absorb significant amounts of light”.

This particular feature of air pollution can severely affect the Earth’s climate. For example, after the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines, more than 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and fine ash particulate were ejected into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Yabang Pinoy/Flickr

SO2 reacts with other atmospheric substances to form fine particulate sulfate aerosols. These tiny particles form high above the cloud level, around 37 miles (60 km) above, and can remain there for a very long time as they don’t get washed from the sky through precipitation. As a result, average global temperatures dropped by 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees Celsius) for roughly two years. Interesting indeed, but is there anything that we can do to eliminate or at least mitigate the problems associated with air pollution ? Let’s take a look at some exciting proposals. 

What are some of the most exciting air pollution solutions?

And so, without further ado, here are some exciting solutions to air pollution . This list is far from exhaustive and is in no particular order. 

1. Friends of the Earth: letting citizens test their air quality

Friends of the Earth

One of the best tools in the fight against air pollution is education. By educating people on the importance of clean air, what they can do to lower their emissions, and how to be aware of the air quality in their area, the pollution problem can be better addressed.

Friends of the Earth is an environmental charity in the UK that has started supplying citizens with testing kits to learn more about the air quality in their local areas. The kits include a monitoring tube and an easy-to-follow guide, so concerned citizens can get accurate answers about the air they breathe.

2. The Nanjing vertical forest: growing an urban forest to clean the air

Stefano Boeri Architetti

Due to the heavily industrialized areas all across China, they’ve been suffering from some of the highest levels of air pollution worldwide. Thankfully, China proposed and implemented numerous pollution-busting initiatives these past few years to make their air healthy again.

One such project is the Nanjing Vertical Forest in Jiangsu province. It’s been estimated that the forest will be able to absorb 25 tons of carbon dioxide and release enough oxygen to make the air 3,000 times healthier than its current state. The design featured 3,000 different species of plants and was completed in 2018.

3. AIR-INK: printing with inks made from polluted air

Graviky Labs/Kickstarter

Some of the most exciting projects seeking to combat air pollution are also looking to utilize the pollutants drawn from the air creatively. One such project is AIR-INK  – an ink made from carbon emissions.

The product is made by Graviky Labs and was funded via Kickstarter. People have to connect the KAALINK device to their car exhaust pipe, and within 45 minutes of driving, they’ll have one fluid ounce (30 ml) of ink. The captured pollutants are then purified in a lab and manufactured into usable ink.

4. The smog-free tower: transforming smog into jewelry

Studio Roosegaarde

Ink is one thing, but what if you could turn pollution into glittering gems? Sounds too good to be true? Then look at the Smog-Free Tower , a vacuum that sucks in smog and condenses the particles into gemstones.

It’s the brainchild of Dutch artist Dan Roosegaarde. The Smog-Free Tower uses relatively little energy, sending positive ions into the air and connecting themselves to dust particles.

A negative ion in the vacuum draws the positive ions back inside, bringing the particles. The fine carbon particles the tower collects can be condensed to create tiny “gemstones” in jewelry like rings and cufflinks. Each tiny stone equals 265,000 gallons (1,000 cubic meters) of purified air.

The tower debuted in Rotterdam in 2015; it is now being used in other cities worldwide.

5. “Free” transport: encouraging citizens to ditch their cars

Standardizer/Wikimedia

By now, it’s common knowledge that our cars are some of the biggest culprits of polluting the air. That’s why Germany is considering making public transport free  to encourage citizens to reduce their carbon footprint by leaving their cars at home.

While a great initiative, it must be noted that such a project is not actually “free,” per se . They will be paid for indirectly through taxation . 

The announcement was made in February of 2018, and trials look set to occur throughout the country before the year ends. It’s a controversial suggestion and one that hasn’t convinced everyone. If they can pull it off, however, it could have a massive impact on the air quality in Germany. A 2019 survey revealed that 2/3rds of the public seems to favor this .

6. The world’s largest air purifier: cleaning the air with a skyscraper

CCTV/YouTube

In January 2018, work began on the world’s largest air purifier in Xian, China .

The massive structure measures 328 feet (100 meters) and can improve air quality within an almost 4-mile radius (10 square kilometers).

The tower is just one of the many Chinese efforts to combat air pollution . The future will determine how effective the tower is, and it won’t be surprising to see similar towers erected across the country if the results are positive.

7. Pollution vacuum cleaners: suck up the air’s contaminants

Evinity Group

What if we could place giant vacuum cleaners on buildings to clean the surrounding air? This question spurred the Envinity Group , a Dutch collective of inventors, into action. In 2016, they debuted an enormous industrial vacuum to remove airborne contaminants.

The vacuum removes fine and ultra-fine particles, which have been identified to be carcinogens by the World Health Organization. The inventors claim that the vacuum can eliminate 100% of fine particles and 95% of ultra-fine particles within a 984-foot radius (300 meters).

8. Fuel bans: taking fossil fuels off the roads for good

SounderBruce/Flickr

Removing contaminants from the air is great as a short-term solution, but it doesn’t address the long-term effects of carbon emissions. One, while arguably a draconian, way that many countries are looking to create a greener, cleaner future is through the banning of cars that use petrol and diesel.

The United Kingdom  is among the countries legislating to make the change. The government plans to effectively ban all new petrol and diesel vehicles from the road by 2035. With the rapidly growing interest in electric vehicles worldwide, initiatives like these have a high chance of succeeding. 

9. CityTree: purifying urban areas in the natural way

Green City Solutions

Urban areas are the worst hit when it comes to air pollution . The lack of green areas and trees in cities means there’s little opportunity for carbon dioxide to be absorbed, leaving the air quality poor. That’s why the German start-up, Green City Solutions, created the CityTree .

The CityTree is a vertical unit, like a billboard, incorporating moss and lichen. Thanks to these hard-working plants, each unit can absorb as much as 240 tons of carbon dioxide annually. This means they can perform the task of 275 trees while demanding a fraction of the space and cost.

10. All electric: setting the stage for zero-emissions vehicles

Jason Rogers/Flickr

When many countries finally successfully ban combustion engine vehicles from their roads, they’ll need a lot of electric cars to take their place. India, to name just one country, has announced that as of 2030 , they will only be selling electric vehicles.

This would be a massive game-changer for India, whose population currently suffers 1.2 million air pollution -related deaths yearly. The change could also save the country $60 billion in energy costs. The brave move is one that many other countries are sure to follow.

11. Fuel from pollutants: creating hydrogen fuel from air pollution

Today’s pollution could very well become tomorrow’s fuel. That’s thanks to research from the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven . In May 2017, scientists discovered a startling new method that allowed them to purify the air and simultaneously create hydrogen fuel from the extracted pollutants.

The researchers created a device containing a thin membrane. On one side of the membrane, the air was purified. On the other side, hydrogen gas resulting from the degradation of the contaminants was collected. The gas could then be used as fuel. The device was powered by solar energy, making it entirely clean.

12. Pollution sensors: providing data on air quality everywhere

Intel Free Press/Wikimedia

One issue that has stalled the fight against air pollution is a lack of comprehensive data. While urban areas are well-tested for air quality, suburban and rural areas have fewer resources when measuring air quality.

In India , government initiatives are installing pollution sensors across all areas of the country to detect and manage air pollution better. A new, cutting-edge series of sensors were certified in 2019 and has already provided valuable data in India’s fight against air pollution.

13. Smart streetlights and sensors:

Working in tandem to clean the air.

fklv (Obsolete hipster)/Flickr

India isn’t the only place looking to install state-of-the-art sensors. The Czechia announced that they would install carbon dioxide monitors inside the streets’ smart lights in its capital, Prague.

The sensors can provide real-time information on the worst affected areas regarding air pollution , allowing for more effective strategies in combating pollution and letting residents know which areas of the city are at the most significant risk to their health.

14. Anti-smog guns: shooting pollution down from the air

New Delhi Municipal Council/Twitter

The idea of an anti-smog gun might sound ridiculous, but it could effectively clear smog-afflicted areas during high pollution. The government of Delhi, India, tested the guns in 2017 and has since brought them online to help reduce the dangerous smog levels in Anand Vihar.

The guns work by spraying water vapor into the air, which absorbs the pollutants before falling to the ground like rain. While it doesn’t remove the contaminants entirely, it’s an effective short-term solution for smog-heavy days where breathing the air could present a severe health risk to residents.

15. Project air view: tracking pollution in your area

David McSpadden/Wikimedia Commons

Apparently, Google Earth is beneficial for creating accurate maps of the world and giving us insight into the quality of air. In a project launched by Google in 2015, Google Street View cars traveled around West Oakland, taking air samples. 

Through this, they could gather comprehensive data about air quality in the city and how it fluctuated over time. Thanks to this research, they could use the system to allow users to examine the average air quality in their and other areas worldwide.

Access to such information would allow for more effective targeting of anti-pollution initiatives. It would warn people about the more dangerous areas regarding poor air quality.

16. Check out the Mandragore Carbon Sink Tower

Designed by the architecture firm Rescubika , this fantastic concept project envisions a “green” residential tower on New York’s Roosevelt Island. Called Mandragore , the building pushes the envelope on the current limits of sustainability practices. 

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Its design is based on the mandrake plant and will be packed with many innovative energy-saving and carbon-capture technologies and strategies. It would use the best passive heating and cooling techniques to condition the interior space. It would incorporate as many natural materials as possible and a literal forest of plants and trees.

The scheme would have 1,600 trees and almost 300,000 square feet of living plant walls across its 160 levels in its current design.

And that’s all for now, folks. Will these solutions ring the death knell on human-created air pollution or not? Many of them are very promising. The future will show if they will significantly dent the air pollution problem. More innovation like this is always welcome to tackle the problem. 

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ABOUT THE EDITOR

Christopher McFadden Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.

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Experiments on Air Pollution: Top 3 Experiments

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The below mentioned article includes a list of three experiments on air pollution.

1. Experiment to measure dust fall in any specified area :

Requirements:

Dust fall trappers, distilled water, physical balance, sieve, scale.

Measurement of dust-fall provides a rough estimate of air pollution. The most common method used is the Dust-trap method, which has a sensitivity up to 0.2 g/m 2 /month. Dust fall trappers are exposed to atmosphere for a fixed period and the soil collected by them is weighed.

A dust trapper is generally kept at least 3 meter above the ground level and preferably on top of the roof in various areas such as residential, commercial, industrial, high-ways etc. To find out the actual dust fall in an area, samples should be taken regularly for at least a month.

A dust-fall trapper is an instrument containing a large grilled frame, dust fall jar and guard frame.

1. Keep the dust fall trappers in different localities of your area, about three meters above the ground.

2. Fill the distilled water in each trapper up to half of its level.

3. Add some fungicidal and algicidal compounds (e.g., copper) in the distilled water.

4. Take samples for 30 days. After the expiry of 30 days, bring the trappers to the laboratory for further treatments.

5. The dust suspended in water is sieved and weighed. Evaporate the supernatant for retrieving the insoluble portion and also add these weights. Record your observations in the following Table 4.15.

Observations:

Generally, the length and breadth of lamina and petiole of leaves collected from polluted area are smaller than those collected from unpolluted area. The leaves collected from polluted area also possess comparatively smaller-sized stomata but their frequency is higher than those collected from unpolluted area.

3. Experiment to estimate bacterial composition of the air by standard plate count (SPC) method:

Nutrient agar medium, autoclave, petri-dishes, incubator.

1. Take about two dozen sterilized petri-dishes and pour in them the duly sterilized liquid nutrient agar medium.

2. Cover the petri-dishes immediately and allow the medium to solidify.

3. Expose six petri-dishes for one minute to the atmosphere, of which the bacterial composition of the air is to be estimated, i.e., laboratory, park, hospital, factory, temple, market and/or college, etc.

4. Cover the petri-dishes immediately after the exposure time and incubate half of them for 24 hours at 37°C and remaining half for 48 hours. Bacterial colonies will develop on the medium. Count the number of colonies with the help of a colony counter, record your observations in the Table 4.17 given below and analyse the data accordingly.

The average of three replicates will give an idea about the places having highest and lowest bacterial populations. On being properly identified, it also becomes clear that which pathogenic bacteria are present in the region.

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protect the pollinators —

Air pollution makes it harder for bees to smell flowers, contaminants can alter plant odors and warp insects’ senses, disrupting the process of pollination..

Katarina Zimmer, Knowable Magazine - Jul 29, 2024 6:34 pm UTC

In the summers of 2018 and 2019, ecologist James Ryalls and his colleagues would go out to a field near Reading in southern England to stare at the insects buzzing around black mustard plants. Each time a bee, hoverfly, moth, butterfly, or other insect tried to get at the pollen or nectar in the small yellow flowers, they’d make a note.

It was part of an unusual experiment. Some patches of mustard plants were surrounded by pipes that released ozone and nitrogen oxides—polluting gases produced around power plants and conventional cars. Other plots had pipes releasing normal air.

The results startled the scientists. Plants smothered by pollutants were visited by up to 70 percent fewer insects overall, and their flowers received 90 percent fewer visits compared with those in unpolluted plots. The concentrations of pollutants were well below what US regulators consider safe. “We didn’t expect it to be quite as dramatic as that,” says study coauthor Robbie Girling , an entomologist at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia and a visiting professor at the University of Reading.

A growing body of research suggests that pollution can disrupt insect attraction to plants—at a time when many insect populations are already suffering deep declines due to agricultural chemicals, habitat loss, and climate change. Around 75 percent of wild flowering plants and around 35 percent of food crops rely on animals to move pollen around , so that plants can fertilize one another and form seeds. Even the black mustard plants used in the experiment, which can self-fertilize, exhibited a drop of 14 percent to 31 percent in successful pollination as measured by the number of seedpods, seeds per pod, and seedpod weight from plants engulfed by dirty air.

Scientists are still working out how strong and widespread these effects of pollution are, and how they operate. They’re learning that pollution may have a surprising diversity of effects, from changing the scents that draw insects to flowers to warping the creatures’ ability to smell, learn, and remember.

This research is still young, says Jeff Riffell , a neuroscientist at the University of Washington. “We’re only touching the tip of the iceberg, if you will, in terms of how these effects are influencing these pollinators.”

Altered scents

Insects often rely on smell to get around. As they buzz about in their neighborhoods, they learn to associate flowers that are good sources of nectar and pollen with their scents. Although some species, like honeybees, also use directions from their hive mates and visual landmarks like trees to navigate, even they critically depend on the sense of smell for sniffing out favorite flowers from afar. Nocturnal pollinators such as moths are particularly talented smellers. “They can smell these patches of flowers from a kilometer away,” Riffell says.

One of the effects of pollution—and what Girling suspects was largely responsible for the pollination declines at the England site—is how it perturbs these flowery aromas. Each fragrance is a unique blend of dozens of compounds that are chemically reactive and degrade in the air. Gases such as ozone or nitrogen oxide will quickly react with these molecules and cause odors to vanish even faster than usual. “For very reactive scents, the plume can only travel a third of the distance than it should actually travel when there is no pollution,” says atmospheric scientist Jose D. Fuentes of Penn State University, who has simulated the influence of ozone on floral scent compounds.

And if some compounds degrade faster than others, the bouquet of scents that insects associate with particular plants transforms, potentially rendering them unrecognizable. Girling and his colleagues observed this in experiments in a wind tunnel into which they delivered ozone. The tunnel was also outfitted with a device that steadily released a synthetic blend of floral odors (an actual flower would have wilted, says coauthor Ben Langford , an atmospheric chemist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology). Using chemical detectors, the team watched the flowery scent plume shorten and narrow as ozone ate away at the edges , with some compounds dropping off entirely as others persisted.

The scientists had trained honeybees to detect the original flowery scent by exposing them to the odor, then giving them sugar water—until they automatically stuck out their tongue-like proboscises to taste it upon smelling the scent. But when bees were tested with ozonated odor representing the edges of the scent plume, either 6 or 12 meters away from the source, only 32 percent and 10 percent, respectively, stuck out their proboscises. The bee is “sniffing a completely different odor at that point,” Langford says.

Researchers also have observed that striped cucumber beetles and buff-tailed bumblebees struggle to recognize their host plants above certain levels of ozone. Some of the most dramatic observations are at night, when extremely reactive pollutants called nitrate radicals accumulate. Riffell and colleagues recently found that about 50 percent fewer tobacco hornworm moths were attracted to the pale evening primrose when the plant’s aroma was altered by these pollutants, and white-lined sphinx moths didn’t recognize the scent at all. This reduced the number of seeds and fruits by 28 percent, the team found in outdoor pollination experiments. “It’s having a really big effect on the plant’s ability to produce seeds,” Riffell says.

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AP3 (AP2, APEEP) Model

The Air Pollution Emission Experiments and Policy analysis (APEEP) model is an integrated assessment model that links emissions of air pollution to exposures, physical effects, and monetary damages in the contiguous United States.  The model and its updated version, AP2, have been used in many peer-reviewed publications (see Current CV). A new, updated version of the model (AP3) is now available soon (early 2018).The primary distinctions between the model years are the data in the model: emissions, population, mortality rates, for example.

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Study tracks exposure to air pollution through the day

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There are significant differences in how much people are exposed to air pollution, according to a new study co-authored by MIT scholars that takes daily mobility into account.

The study, based in the Bronx, New York, does not just estimate air pollution exposure based on where people live or work, but uses mobile data to examine where people go during a typical day, building a more thorough assessment of the environment’s impact on them.

The research finds exposure to particulate matter 2.5 microns or bigger rises by about 2.4 percent when daily travel patterns are taken into account.

“One of the main strengths of the study is that we try to improve the information we use, on the air quality side and also from the fine-grained estimation of people’s mobility,” says Paolo Santi, a principal research scientist at Senseable City Lab, part of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), and a co-author of a new paper detailing the study’s results. “That allows us to build trajectories of people’s movement. So, it was the first time we were able to combine these data to come up with a new measure of exposure.”

After all, people’s daily pollution exposure may be a complex combination of either living near, working near, or traveling by sources of particulate matter.

“People move around the city for jobs and education and more, and studying that is where we get this better information about exposure,” says An Wang of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, another co-author of the study.

The paper, “ Big mobility data reveals hyperlocal air pollution exposure disparities ,” is published today in  Nature Cities .

The authors are Iacopo Testi of the Senseable City Lab; An Wang of Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Sanjana Paul, a graduate student in DUSP; Simone Mora, of the Senseable City Lab; Erica Walker, an associate professor at the Brown University School of Public Health; Marguerite Nyhan, a senior lecturer/associate professor at the National University of Ireland, University College Cork; Fábio Duarte of the Senseable City Lab; Santi; and Carlo Ratti, director of the Senseable City Lab.

To conduct the study, the researchers collected air pollution by mounting solar-power environmental sensors, including optical particle counters, temperature and humidity sensors, and GPS, on New York City’s civic services vehicles in operation in the Bronx.

“This strategy shows that cities can use their existing fleet as environmental sensors,” says Mora.

To measure how people moving through the Bronx are exposed to pollution in different times, the researchers used anonymized phone records of 500,000 different individuals and 500 million daily location records in New York.

The ground-level pollution data showed that the southeastern portion of the Bronx, where expressways and industries meet most intensively, has the most particulate matter.

The mobility data also revealed disparities in exposure when evaluated in terms of demographics, with income disparities present but disparities by ethnicity larger. For instance, some largely Hispanic communities have among the highest exposure levels. But the data also showed large differences in exposure levels within Hispanic communities.

Pollution exposure has significant implications from a health perspective, as Duarte notes. For instance, the Bronx has the worst air quality of any New York City borough, and, in turn, cases of asthma in the Bronx are 2.5 times higher in than any other borough.

“You see the consequences of exposure to pollution in the hospitalization of adults in the Bronx,” Duarte says.

As the researchers acknowledge, because the study was conducted in the fall of 2021, when the global Covid-19 pandemic was still affecting business and commuting, there may be slightly different mobility patterns in the Bronx today. Still, they believe their methods can give rise to additional future studies of the pollution exposure.

Ratti notes that mobile data, including pollution sensors on vehicles, can be used as “a huge monitoring system. It’s not expensive, we have the infrastructure in terms of cars and buses, and just putting sensors on them, you can have better air quality monitoring.”

And Wang notes that granular studies such as this one can be extended into studies that add in additional kinds of air-quality hazards, in addition to PM 2.5 particles.

“This actually opens the door for new analysis for many kinds of toxicity studies combined with exposure,” he says.

The study was supported by the MIT Senseable City Lab Consortium.

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Environmental pollution and human health – how worried should we be?

Professor of Chemistry, RMIT University

Disclosure statement

Oliver A.H. Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council, various water utilities, EPA Victoria and the Defence Science Institute for research into environmental pollution, including PFAS.

RMIT University provides funding as a strategic partner of The Conversation AU.

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If not the root of all evil, chemical pollution is surely responsible for a good chunk of it. At least, that’s how it feels sometimes when reading the news and the latest research.

From hormone disruptors in our rivers and drugs in our drinking water , to PFAS and microplastics just about everywhere, it seems there’s plenty to worry about.

The list of potential health effects is also scary. Pollution is linked to infertility , cancer , reduced immune function , and more.

So it’s not surprising many people feel chemicals are intrinsically bad, though that’s not the case . But how worried should we really be, and can we reduce the risks?

In the air we breathe

Globally, pollution is a serious problem – particularly air pollution.

The Lancet Commission on pollution and health estimates pollution is responsible for about 9 million deaths a year and economic losses in the trillions of dollars.

The burden of disease falls heavily on developing countries, but even in Australia air pollution causes significant harm .

Fortunately, we can monitor air pollution , even at home. We know what levels are dangerous, and how to reduce exposure . But what about things we can’t monitor, or know less about?

The water we drink

In June, the Sydney Morning Herald implied tap water throughout Australia was contaminated with alarming levels of PFAS. But the levels detected fall within Australia’s drinking water guidelines. They just happen to exceed the United States’ new safety thresholds, which don’t come in for five years .

PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of highly persistent chemicals characterised by carbon-fluorine bonds.

Although PFAS in your water sounds awful, we don’t know if water is the main route of exposure or what the actual risks are.

PFAS is also in dust , cookware , waterproof clothing , cosmetics , and other consumer products .

The presence of PFAS is an emotive subject, thanks to films such as Dark Waters and documentaries like How to Poison a Planet .

Found everywhere from Mount Everest to the ocean depths , PFAS have been associated with negative health effects including cancer and reduced immune response .

What is generally missing from both research papers and news reports is context – details on the dose and duration of exposure needed to cause such effects.

The levels of PFAS needed to cause health effects tend to be orders of magnitude higher than those typically found in the environment. So while it’s not great that we’ve polluted the entire planet with these compounds, the health risks for most of us are likely to be low .

New technologies are being developed to reduce PFAS in water and soil .

But given their widespread distribution and extreme persistence , we should perhaps reevaluate PFAS risks and regulations (as the National Health and Medical Research Council is doing ).

If you want to reduce your exposure , you can consider using water filters and avoid non-stick pans and other products that contain PFAS.

Many non-stick pans now boast they are PFAS-free. Sadly this is not always the case . Ceramic pans can be a good, PFAS-free option, but these are actually silica-based and may not last as long .

And the food we eat

Everyone knows pesticides give you cancer right? Well, actually no. This is another area where public perception has jumped ahead of the science .

The usual suspect, glyphosate, is usually claimed to cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But this is a catch-all term covering more than 60 different types of lymphoma, which can vary significantly.

Multiple independent regulatory agencies worldwide list glyphosate as non-carcinogenic . A study of more than 54,000 people who applied pesticides for a living found no link to cancer .

Small amounts of pesticide residue are permitted on our food, but concentrations are in the parts per trillion (for reference, a trillion seconds is 31,710 years).

The evidence suggests parts per trillion of pesticides do not increase the risk of cancer in people. But if you want to reduce your exposure anyway, washing and cooking vegetables and washing fruit is a good way to go.

Microplastics are everywhere

Microplastics (plastic particles less than 5mm in diameter) are now found everywhere from the top to the bottom of the planet.

They have been reported in food and drink, including salt , seafood , various meats and plant-based proteins , fruit and vegetables as well as bottled and tap water .

Again, it sounds scary – but several reports of microplastics in food and blood have been firmly criticised by other scientists. The widely (mis)reported claim that we eat a credit card’s worth of microplastic each week was debunked by YouTuber Hank Green .

The World Health Organization recently concluded evidence of the health effects of microplastics is insufficient . However, they also make the point that this is not the same as saying microplastics are safe. We need more data to understand the risks .

Avoiding plastic bottles and food packaging can reduce exposure, as can having hard floors rather than carpets, and regular vacuuming .

We need new recycling technology to reduce plastic waste. Ultimately, we may need to wean ourselves off plastic entirely.

Where to from here?

I am not suggesting we should not worry about pollution – we should. But just because something is present does not automatically mean it is causing harm. To my mind, air pollution is the biggest worry so far, with more proven health effects than microplastics or PFAS.

Scary headlines generate clicks, views and likes but they rarely reflect the science .

We must understand relative exposure and the nuances of risk assessment. We need sensible debate, evidence-based approaches and new techniques for monitoring and assessing the impacts of, low (parts per trillion) pollutant concentrations.

This should help prevent and mitigate potentially harmful exposures in future.

• Environment
• Microplastics
• environmental pollutants
• Air pollution and health
• Chemical pollution
• Environmental pollution
• Microplastics in food
• Microplastics in humans
• PFAS in drinking water

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High School Students Learn About Microplastic Pollution in Eco Ambassador Program

Columbia Climate School

In April, high school students from Parsippany and Millburn, New Jersey, got firsthand experience investigating microplastics in their surroundings.

The two-day lab visits to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory , which is part of the Columbia Climate School , began with a personalized request from the lead research mentor Joaquim Goes , who asked students to bring a few articles of clothing from home and shrimp purchased locally from the grocery store.

Starting with a casual and informative conversation about the major trends in microplastics around the world, including the prevalence of microplastics in detergent, cosmetics, food systems and new studies linking microplastics to human health, Goes cited examples from his research of how these ubiquitous particles have affected food, water and security issues. He also discussed promising new research for tackling the microplastics crisis, including the discovery and testing of bacterial enzymes and filters for washing machines. A research professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Goes studies ocean ecosystems and the ways plankton are responding to climate change.

After the overview of microplastics issues, students geared up in their white lab coats to delve deeper into microplastics investigation. They got their hands dirty by deveining shrimp and washing their clothes. The students also collected water from a local pond and tested laundry sheets. These activities generated lab samples to test for the presence of microplastics. And they found that all samples—shrimp, laundry water, laundry sheets, pond water—showed traces of these tiny particles.

When the sessions concluded, the students were asked to reflect on their biggest takeaway from the lab activities. They highlighted the important lessons they learned about the significance of collecting “refined and unbiased data,” the value of gaining hands-on experience in the lab, the ubiquity of plastics in the world around us and the concerns they raise for human and environmental health.

“I never thought about the relation between washing clothes and increasing microplastics in the ocean, but the Lamont Lab helped me to understand that connection,” said one of the  participants.

“My takeaway would be that data collection is fundamental to efforts to solve problems like microplastics. We needed to be extremely precise with our sequestration of microplastics from the environment, taking a rigorous approach to isolate them from organic material like tissue or fabric,” another student said.

“The biggest takeaway for me was that plastic is so deeply embedded in our society that it will be extremely difficult to transition away from it. Microplastics exist in the air, our water and food systems and it is important for us to combine individual and collective efforts to make a change. It was also very interesting to learn more about the spread of algae and how it is caused and contributes to climate change,” a third student said.

Because the lab visit can accommodate a limited number of students, more cohorts of students will be invited to participate in the summer. In parallel, a virtual summer program—open to all middle and high schools around the world—is invited to join the ongoing conversation on microplastics issues in water systems. More information can be found here .

This student experience is a part of the project, “ Community Science to Address Microplastic Pollution in Environmental Underserved Communities in New Jersey and New York . ” The project builds upon the Columbia University Center for Sustainable Development ’s Eco Ambassador Program and Eco Ambassadors Solutions Lab with SDGs Today, which equips youth participants with scientific knowledge and skills to promote the circular economy, via development of solutions for mitigating plastic use and establishment of sustainable solutions for management and stewardship of plastic waste within their communities. The project is also a collaborative effort with New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium and New York Sea Grant to not only develop timely and effective marine debris curricula but to also expand environmental literacy outreach to school districts in various communities in New Jersey and New York urban watersheds. The project is supported by NOAA & Sea Grant’s Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions Competition.

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The Reporter

Clearing the Air: Historical Air Pollution and Health

Air pollution has serious and longstanding negative effects on human health. The primary focus of research on air pollution in the United States since the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 has been the health implications of particulate matter. In comparison, there has been relatively little work on air pollution and health in historical periods, even though air pollution was much higher in earlier times than it is today. Research on historical air pollution can provide new evidence on the health consequences of air pollution in the United States and offer insights that may be relevant for policymaking in settings with high levels of air pollution, such as developing countries.

Our research focuses on four topics related to historical air pollution and health: the costs and benefits of expansion of coal-fired power generation as measured by infant mortality from 1938 to 1962; the interaction between historical air pollution and influenza pandemics in 1918, 1957–58, and 1968–69; the costs of the Clean Air Act for the electricity sector; and the benefits to fertility from the declines in airborne lead pollution starting in 1978, when lead was added as a criteria pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

Coal-Fired Electricity and Infant Health

In the early twentieth century, coal was used across a range of sectors and was a major source of air pollution. Evidence summarized in a paper with Joshua Lewis shows that air pollution in cities was high. 1 Newspaper articles decried those high levels, and cities passed local legislation aimed at addressing the pollution problem. Local legislation was, by all accounts, ineffective.

Figure 1 shows the increase in coal consumption by the electricity sector over time and high levels of consumption by the industrial sector before 1970. Nearly all the coal was being burned without emissions controls, so more coal consumption translated into more air pollution. Air pollution in some areas became increasingly severe. This eventually led to the passage of federal legislation in 1955 and 1963 and to the Clean Air Act of 1970.

In other work, we investigate the trade-offs involved in the historical expansion of coal-fired electricity generation in the United States, particularly focusing on its health implications. 2 During the mid-twentieth century, the surge in coal-fired power generation played a pivotal role in local industrial growth and household electrification. However, this expansion also resulted in significant air pollution, raising concerns about its adverse health effects. By analyzing newly digitized data on coal-fired power plants alongside county-level infant mortality rates from 1938 to 1962, we shed light on the relationship between coal-fired generation, electricity access, and infant health.

Our study identifies a striking reversal in the relationship between coal-fired generation and infant mortality around 1950. Initially, coal-fired generation was associated with decreased infant mortality due to expanded electricity access and economic benefits, as shown in Figure 2. However, as the existing capacity of local generating facilities expanded and air pollution increased, the net health impact of expanding coal-fired generation turned negative. Our research finds that while coal-fired capacity expansions led to improvements in household electrification and modest employment growth, the overall health impacts were influenced by the level of exposure to plant emissions. These findings highlight the importance of policy evaluations of infrastructure investments over a long time horizon.

Our study also uncovers substantial heterogeneity in health outcomes based on baseline electricity access levels and local exposure to plant emissions. Counties with low initial access to electricity experienced no significant increase in infant mortality, suggesting that the benefits of expanded electricity generation might have outweighed the health costs of air pollution. Conversely, in counties with high baseline electricity access, coal capacity expansions were associated with a notable rise in infant mortality, demonstrating pollution-related health risks.

Air Pollution and Influenza Pandemics

One important way pollution can cause death is through its interaction with infectious disease. The consequences of pollution are likely to be particularly significant during pandemics, such as those associated with influenza.

In joint work with Lewis, we examine excess mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic. 3 Using a panel dataset covering infant and all-age mortality rates in 180 US cities from 1915 to 1925, our study links mortality to coal-fired electricity generation, which was a significant source of urban air pollution at the time. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, the analysis reveals that cities with higher coal usage experienced substantial increases in both infant and all-age mortality during the pandemic compared to cities with lower coal usage, resulting in an estimated 30,000 to 42,000 additional deaths attributed to pollution — 19 to 26 percent of total pandemic mortality. These findings underscore air pollution’s contribution to the severity of the 1918 influenza pandemic, highlighting the importance of considering environmental factors in pandemic preparedness and response strategies.

In work with Lewis and Xiao Wang, we show that the introduction of Medicaid in 1965 significantly mitigated air pollution impacts on infant mortality during the 1968–69 influenza pandemic. 4 Drawing on the newly digitized data on coal-fired power plants mentioned previously, we use coal-fired electricity generation as a proxy for air pollution. Analyzing county-level infant mortality data from 1950 to 1976, we employ a triple-difference estimation strategy to assess the deviation from trend in infant mortality during the 1968–69 pandemic across counties with varying exposure levels to the Medicaid expansion and differing Medicaid eligibility across states. The effects are quantitatively significant, with the introduction of Medicaid estimated to have averted over 2,500 infant deaths nationwide during the 1968–69 pandemic, suggesting a broader local health externality wherein improved healthcare access reduced disease transmission within the population.

The Clean Air Act of 1970

The environmental and health impacts of polluting activities led to the passage of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1970. A long-standing question about the costs of the CAA is its impact on key sectors like electricity. In work with Akshaya Jha and Lewis, we call attention to the importance of accounting for anticipatory behavior by polluting firms when assessing these impacts. 5 By leveraging the new dataset on fossil-fuel power plant use spanning 1938 to 1994, we uncover significant anticipatory responses by electric utilities. Nonattainment designations under the CAA resulted in substantial and enduring decreases in productivity among coal-fired power plants, particularly those built before the 1963 CAA that signaled impending federal regulation but was difficult to enforce. The strategic responses of utilities are evident in the design and siting decisions of plants constructed after 1963. We find that the aggregate productivity losses and the associated costs of the CAA borne by the power sector were substantially mitigated by the reallocation of output away from older, less-productive power plants.

Anticipation has implications for understanding the effects of the CAA on air pollution and in turn on health. Figure 3 shows that the level of total suspended particulates (TSP) was already falling prior to the 1970 CAA. Under the CAA, counties were designated as in or out of attainment with National Ambient Air Quality Standards. It also shows that the reduction in TSP levels in nonattainment counties surpassed that of attainment counties following the 1977 amendments. When Maureen Cropper, Nicholas Muller, Yongjoon Park, and Victoria Perez-Zetune examined whether nonattainment counties experienced larger TSP reductions in the 1970s compared to attainment counties, they found that the parallel trends assumption, crucial for causal inference in difference-in-differences analysis, had been violated. 6 Anticipation might explain these preexisting trends.

Air Lead Pollution

Originally, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulated five criteria pollutants under the 1970 CAA — particulate matter, ambient ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Following a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the EPA in 1978 established National Ambient Air Quality Standards for airborne lead. Lead is a highly toxic metal known to cause a range of adverse health outcomes, particularly in children and fetuses. In adults, lead exposure has been linked to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and mortality, miscarriages, and damage to the reproductive system.

In work with Alex Hollingsworth, we review the surprisingly small quasi-experimental literatures on lead and fertility, lead and infant mortality, and lead and infant birth outcomes. 7 Our research with Margarita Portnykh examines the impact of airborne lead on fertility rates using US county-level data from 1978 to 1988. 8 Over this period, airborne lead exposure decreased due to regulatory efforts to reduce air pollution, particularly lead emissions from gasoline. The study provides the first causal evidence of a relationship between lead exposure and fertility rates in the general population. Instrumental variable estimates indicate that a decrease in airborne lead levels caused an increase in both the general fertility rate and the completed fertility rate, equivalent to about six percent of mean fertility. Additionally, we explore the relevance of these findings more recently by estimating the effect of historically accumulated lead in topsoil on fertility in the 2000s, revealing that counties with higher lead concentrations in their soil had significantly lower general fertility rates. This finding suggests that lead exposure may continue to impact fertility today, not only in the United States but in other countries with significant lead contamination in the air and topsoil.

The research summarized here provides new evidence on historical air pollution and health in the United States. Because the analysis of air pollution and other types of pollution in US history is relatively new, there are many opportunities for additional research. One advantage of working on the US topics is that there are data spanning relatively long periods of time, including periods without and with regulation. Further, historical pollution levels in the US were high and so are more similar to levels in developing countries than they are to contemporary pollution levels. Thus, research on historical pollution can both quantify the costs and benefits of historical policies pertaining to air pollution in the US and offer insights that may be relevant for policymaking in developing countries.

Researchers

More from nber.

“ The Historical Impact of Coal on Cities ,” Clay K, Lewis JA, Severnini ER. NBER Working Paper 31365, June 2023, and Regional Science and Urban Economics 107, July 2024, Article 103951.

“ Canary in a Coal Mine: Infant Mortality, Property Values, and Tradeoffs Associated with Mid-20th Century Air Pollution ,” Clay K, Lewis J, Severnini ER. NBER Working Paper 22155, April 2016, and Review of Economics and Statistics 106(3), May 2024, pp. 698–711.

“ Pollution, Infectious Disease, and Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic ,” Clay K, Lewis J, Severnini ER. NBER Working Paper 21635, May 2018, and Journal of Economic History 78(4), October 2018, pp. 1179–1209.

“ The Value of Health Insurance during a Crisis: Effects of Medicaid Implementation on Pandemic Influenza Mortality ,” Clay K, Lewis JA, Severnini ER, Wang X. NBER Working Paper 27120, May 2022, and Review of Economics and Statistics 1-31, September 2022.

“ Impacts of the Clean Air Act on the Power Sector from 1938–1994: Anticipation and Adaptation ,” Clay K, Jha A, Lewis JA, Severnini ER. NBER Working Paper 28962, December 2022.

“ The Impact of the Clean Air Act on Particulate Matter in the 1970s ,” Cropper M, Muller N, Park Y, Perez-Zetune V. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 121, September 2023, Article 102867.

“ The Impact of Lead Exposure on Fertility, Infant Mortality, and Infant Birth Outcomes ,” Clay K, Hollingsworth A, Severnini ER. NBER Working Paper 31379, June 2023, and forthcoming in the Review of Environmental Policy and Economics .

“ Toxic Truth: Lead and Fertility ,” Clay K, Portnykh M, Severnini ER. NBER Working Paper 24607, June 2019, and Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 8(5), September 2021, pp. 975–1012.

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