Ozone and Particulate Matter: Sources, Impact and Control Measures

The report presents a critical analysis of the major air pollutants focusing on the ozone and particulate matter, their sources of generation and the impact it has on the human health and plants. The study also discusses about the adequate measures that can be taken to address the plaguing situation.

Running head: OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER
OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER
Name of the Student
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Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report presents a critical analysis of the major air pollutants focusing on the ozone and
particulate matter, their sources of generation and the impact it has on the human health and
plants. The study also discusses about the adequate measures that can be taken to address the
plaguing situation. The aim of the report is to discuss the ozone as a substance which is both
good and bad for the environment depending on its quantity of presence. The study also
establishes a clear understanding of the air pollutants as a major trigger factor in global warming
and climate change. Lastly, the analysis also suggests suitable measures to be undertaken in
order to combat the air pollution with an enhance zeal and enthusiasm.
Table of Contents

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Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Ozone...............................................................................................................................................4
Ozone as a oxidizing agent..........................................................................................................5
Ozone layer..................................................................................................................................5
Sources of Ozone.............................................................................................................................6
Impact of Ozone..............................................................................................................................6
Impact on Human health..............................................................................................................6
Impact on plants...........................................................................................................................7
Particulate Matter.............................................................................................................................7
Formation of Particulate Matter...................................................................................................8
Sources of Particulate matter...........................................................................................................9
Impact of Particulate matter.............................................................................................................9
Impact on human health...............................................................................................................9
Impact on Plants........................................................................................................................10
Control of Particulate Matter.........................................................................................................10
Measures to combat Air Pollution.................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Air pollutants are the extremely harmful substances whose presence in the air leads to
deterioration of the air quality. These substances includes particulate matter like carbon soot
from vehicular emission, burning of the fossil fuels, industrial emissions contain toxic gases like
sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide form the toxic
pollutants. These pollutants are toxic in nature and are major causes of air pollution. Air
pollution can be explained as the existence of toxic chemical compounds in the air whose excess
in the air poses serious health hazards to living beings. It can be extremely detrimental to plants,
animals, microorganisms as well as human beings. Some major chemical substances like
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) aggravates the air quality and leads to depletion of ozone layer
(Bolaji and Huan 2013). These are odorless chemical compounds which are in aerosols,
refrigerators, air conditioners, foam food packaging, and fire extinguishers. Due to its hazardous
effects Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has been banned since 1996. These toxic pollutants get
released from the massive exploitation on the limited non-renewable resources like exploration
of mines, thermal power plants, and combustion of coal in the industries. The renewable sources
of energy like sunlight, waves and tidal energy, geo-thermal energy, hydropower, biomass
energy has proved to store massive potential energy which can cut down on toxic pollutants
exponentially. However, these alternative sources are more expensive as they demand cross-
cutting technologies to tap its energy. Further, it will also require installation of newer industries
or structural changes in the existing industries to develop and assimilate to newer technologies.
Therefore, the whole process is time consuming however, bring a paradigm shift in controlling
pollution from large point of sources. The other method can be to integrate greener technologies

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in the process of combating air pollution through energy efficient vehicles and fuels (Silva et al.
2013)
Ozone
Ozone is a gas which is exists naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. It is comprised of three
atoms of oxygen and is denoted as O3. This gas is primarily found in two distinct regions of the
atmosphere. Around 10 % of the ozone gas in confined in the area from 10-16km from the
surface of the earth. Remaining ozone resides in the stratosphere, hence it is noteworthy that
90% of the ozone gas in present 50km above the earth due to which it has called as the OZONE
LAYER. The word ozone has been derived from the Greek word óζειν (ozein), which means “to
smell.” Ozone has a very pungent odor which helps to detect its presence even at low quantities.
It is highly reactive hence it rapidly reacts with nitrogen, chlorine, bromine. It can be explosive if
present in concentrated amounts (Worrest and Caldwell 2013). Ozone is said to be a unique
chemical compound which is created when the rays of the sun splits the molecules of the oxygen
into single atoms. The resultant atoms mostly are unstable which further combine with the
available oxygen thus forming a three oxygen molecule called ozone. The oxidation potential of
ozone is greater than oxygen. Ozone is said to be a powerful oxidant which means that it has
highly demanded in the industries and for other commercial purposes as it has wide variety of
application in the oxidation processes. This inherent quality of ozone makes it harmful for
respiratory tissues of plants and animals and has the potential to damage the mucous membrane
when the concentration reaches over 0.1ppm. Therefore, it is considered to be potential health
hazard and a toxic pollutant when it is present near the ground level. However, its presence in the
stratospheric layer is a boon as plays a pivotal role in absorbing the harmful ultra violet rays
from reaching the earth surface.

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Ozone as a oxidizing agent
Ozone is a considered as one of prominent oxidizing agent which is has more potential
than oxygen. Being extremely unstable at higher concentration it constantly decays forming
ordinary oxygen. There are many external environmental factors and atmospheric conditions
determining it presence like varying temperature, humidity of the air and movement of the air.
Increasing temperature triggers the reaction process of ozone.
Ozone layer
The excess amount of ozone in the stratospheric region of atmosphere comprises the
ozone layer. It extends to about 10 km and 50 km above the surface however its concentration is
only two to eight parts per million. Ozone layer was mainly created when the ultraviolet light
strikes the oxygen molecules comprising two molecules of oxygen and splits into singular
oxygen atoms. These oxygen atoms reacts with the oxygen forming ozone, thus continuing the
process into a constant chain of reaction leading to ozone-oxygen cycle (Chipperfield et al
2015). The ozone layer has been experiencing ozone hole which means that the thickness of this
shield is constantly reducing due to pollutants like CFCS and hydrocarbons. The decreased
thickness of the ozone layer will lead to major health issues like as it shields from the harmful
ultraviolet rays of the sun. Ultraviolet rays is known to cause skin cancer as it is carcinogenic on
human health.
Sources of Ozone
The ozone gas is obtained from a series of complex photochemical reactions which
involves sunlight and heat. Ozone gas gets released in the air as a consequence of precursor
pollutants which are reactive organic compounds and various other oxides of nitrogen. The gas is

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also generated from the combustion of engines like from power cars, construction equipment,
lawn movers, trucks, trains, boats and other mobile sources in the bay area zone. The bay area
experiences higher temperature and exposure to sunlight for longer duration also facilitate
formation of ozone. Hence the extended evening and morning hours significantly contributes to
more number of commuters on the road hence emission of ozone increases manifold. The ground
level ozone which is considered as a bad ozone is formed as a result of various chemical
reactions between oxides of nitrogen and many other volatile organic compounds under the
influence of sunlight. Many industrial facilities and several electrical utilities, vehicular
emissions, vapors from gasoline chambers and other chemical solvents releases organic
compounds which triggers ozone reactions creating various health problems (Elsom 2014).
Hence, the ground level ozone is considered as the bad ozone while the stratospheric ozone is the
good ozone as it protects from harmful ultra-violet rays.
Impact of Ozone
Impact on Human health.
Ozone poses serious health issues which can cause breathing problems especially to older
women, children, aged people thereby causing asthma, chest pain, coughing, throat irritation,
airway inflammation. It also reduces the functional system of lungs and harm tissues of lungs. It
can also worsen many bronchitis and emphysema. Ozone can lead constriction of the tissues in
the airways thus entrapping poisonous air in the alveoli (Bais et al 2015). This can lead to
shortness in breathing as well as other serous breathing problems. Ozone can create difficulty in
breathing, inflammation in the airways thus damaging the delicate tissues. It can also aggravate
respiratory issues and increase the frequency of the asthma attacks, increase susceptibility to

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infection and also lead major disease like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) further
long term exposure to ozone can aggravate the condition of asthma.
Impact on plants
Ozone poses detrimental impact on the vegetation and ecosystems and has the ability to
damage the growing season very harshly especially for plants like black cherry, quaking aspen,
white pine, red alder, ponderosa. When considerable amount of ozone enters the sensitive tissues
of the plant it reduces the intensity of thee photosynthesis. It reduces the pace of growth of the
plants and lead to various fatal disease. The risk of damage from the insects also increases and
the resistance against various disease is decreased. There is a rapid loss of species diversity
including plants, animals, insects and fish. It have an impact on the plant habitat leading to
changes in water and nutrient cycles. The risk to plants against harmful weather also increases.
During the regular exchange of gases, ozone as a strong oxidizing agent triggers symptoms of
chlorosis in the plants. This results flecks, stipples, bronzing and reddening of leaves. Further the
agricultural loss is huge as the yield by the crops also reduces significantly.
Particulate Matter
Particulate matter consists of major solid and liquid particles which are complex organic
and inorganic substances suspended in the air. There are two principal groups- coarse particles
and fine particles and difference between the sizes of these two particles is 1 μm and 2.5 μm.
The particles which are smaller consists of aerosols formed from the combustion, metal vapors.
The particles which are larger in size consists of earth crust materials and dusts generated from
construction activities and roads. The fine particles consists of mostly acidic in nature as it
contains hydrogen ion hence responsible for mutagenic activity of the particulate matter (Burnett
2014).

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Formation of Particulate Matter
The varying sizes of suspended particles in the atmosphere ranges from a few nm to
tens of mm formed by the mechanical breakdown of the larger particles. The particles are blown
from the agricultural lands, uncovered soil, unpaved roads and mining operations. The traffic
also contributes to the road dust and turbulence in the air which increases the flow on particulate
matter in the air. However, the coasts have witnessed larger forms of particulate matter due to the
evaporation effect of the sea spray. Further, the pollen grains from the plants, mould spores, and
parts of insects also remains suspended in the air leading to massive increase in the volume of
pollutants pollution (Ellabban, Abu-Rub and Blaabjerg 2014). The energy required for the
breakdown of the particles depends on the size of the particles. The smallest of the particles are
formed by nucleation which is a complex process. When the temperature is high, the
condensation of the low-vapor-pressure substances is formed by various chemical reactions in
the atmosphere forming new particles called as nuclei. These nuclei coagulates with other
particles like those of carbon, sulfates and nitrates. Coagulation increases the size of particles
thereby increasing the condensation as a larger surface area is present on the nuclei. Hence, it is
noteworthy that these forms the accumulation range which fluctuates between 0.1 and 1 μm. Sub
micrometer-sized particles is formed by the process of condensation of metals and organic
compounds which are vaporizes at higher temperature during the process of combustion. These
are considered more toxic and poisonous for the environment (Kim et al 2015).
Sources of Particulate matter
Several various polluting sources releases dust, soot, smoke, aerosols, fumes, mists, and
condensing vapors that remain suspended in the air for longer period which forms the various
components of the particulate matter. These particles can be released from anthropogenic

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activities as well as natural activities. The combustion process in the factories and industries,
activities like construction of roads have been contributing largely towards polluting the
atmosphere. Agriculture also adds much of the particulate matter in the air. Mining activities
releases mineral dust, black carbon sand brown carbon (Byrnes et al 2013). These carbon plays a
potent role in absorption of light. Natural activities like volcanic eruptions releases large amount
of fly ash and unburnt or half-burnt particles. Leaf flitters releases organic matter in the air and
sea spray largely affects the climate. Wildfires and forest fires is another major natural events
contributing towards air pollution due to the presence of particulate matter. There are also
secondary sources apart from these primary sources which are the main precursor sources such
as oxides of sulphur, nitrogen, volatile organic compounds and ammonia.
Impact of Particulate matter
Particulate matter has hazardous implications on human health, biodiversity, climate
change, global warming. This has graving concerns for the biological processes in the food chain
thus impacting the ecosystem as a whole. The implications of the particulate matter can be
measured under suitable heads.
Impact on human health
The particulate matter are very small solid particles and can be microscopic as well as
liquid droplets which can easily penetrate during breathing process can cause irritation in the
tissues of the lungs. This can increase the permeability of the lung tissues. It can also lead to
chronic diseases in the respiratory system of the can cause rapid loss in the functioning of the air
way. Particulate matter can lead to major changes in the composition of the blood increasing
issues the blood clotting (Raaschou-Nielsen et al 2013). Susceptibility to bacterial and viral
infections also increases leading to pneumonia thereby increasing the vulnerability of the person

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to other issues. Chronic asthma has been a major consequence due to longer exposure to the
wood smoke, reduction in the proper functioning of the lungs among the children and further
increased in the morality rates of the persons. Reports suggest that deteriorating quality of the air
has been extremely detrimental to human health and one of the potent reason of mortality (Fuzzi
et al 2015).
Impact on Plants
Particulate matter has exerted a triggered response in the characteristics of the plants
changing the status of plants biochemically, morphologically and physiologically. Reduction in
the leaf area, number of leaves, structural changes in the stomata, flowering, reproduction and
growth. Transformation in the pigment content, composition of the enzymes as well as ascorbic
component undergoes a crucial change. The protein content, sugar, relative water content and
changes in the pH value has also been witnessed. This has also impacted the ecosystem and
biodiversity of the area which are regarded as the major hotspots of the biodiversity (Volk et al
2013).
Control of Particulate Matter
Australian government plays a vital role in proactively managing the quality of the air
and controlling the emissions through a framework of emission standards to phase out the toxic
pollutant. Air NEPM framework and Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 has been a landmark
achievement in improving the quality of the air. Energy efficient vehicles and alternative
technologies has been built to address the grave concerns of air pollution. With the establishment
of Ministerial Forum on Vehicle Emissions (DIRD 2015) ways are formed to examine how to
reduce the impact of emissions from vehicles on human and environment. A remarkable effort to
transform the Motor Vehicle Standards Act was also proposed in 2016 (Department of the

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Environment and Energy 2018). This aimed at reducing the regulatory framework with better
technologies and lessen the burden by removing the barriers.
Measures to combat Air Pollution
Air pollution Act in Australia has been effective over years in combating air pollution,
however, it can be further strengthened by some important measures. WHO guidelines can be
further adhered in framing the maximum permitted concentration for each of the toxic pollutant
so as to align with the global standards. Paris climate agreement was another landmark effort to
combat climate change and greenhouse effect due to massive air pollution. Australia has honored
this agreement with full force yet the adequate mechanism to execute the target of keeping the
global temperature below 1.5 degree Celsius based on the pre- industrial level is ambitious yet
challenging (Martens 2013). Australia should take collaborative effort to transform the targets
into a reality. This will be a landmark achievement if nations collaborate on this front to resolve
the plaguing issues urgently. Emerging green technologies and hybrid cars can be roped into
thereby phasing out the diesel cars gradually. Finland and Norway have taken brilliant efforts by
banning diesel cars, installing electric charging systems at various station to popularize and
promote electric cars. Australia can take similar efforts in fighting against air pollution which has
been a raging cause against global climate change. Stricter compliance on the fuel norms and
policies can be undertaken to arouse self-consciousness among the public at large. The
government should embrace forward looking policies, eco-friendly technologies, promote
bicycling for shorter distances, easy taxation policy for industries to reduce their carbon footprint
and invest in research and development for greener fuels like bio-fuels, bio-diesel. The
agricultural wastes which contributes to major part of particulate matter can be reformed with
better technique of farming and proper disposal of wastes (Cheng 2013). The biomass generated

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as a byproduct in the process of agricultural process are extremely rich in methane which forms a
major component of biofuels.
Conclusion
Air pollution is a global concern which has affected the world population on various
parameters which has been major economic loss for the nations all over the world. Ozone and
particulate matter is a toxic pollutant which has deteriorated the quality of air. This has been also
considered a major cause of air pollution. Long term exposure to the pollutants is known to
reduce the demographic dividend as well as impact heavily on the productivity of the vibrant
working population. This needs to be addressed as soon as possible through a collaborative effort
and a multipronged approach by all the nations. Many cities has been experiencing gas chamber
effect, frequent smog like conditions, and the rate of acid rain has also multiplied manifold due
to the horrendous effects of the toxic pollutants. The toxicity of the air quality needs to be
monitored and simultaneously efforts must be to phase out the point of sources. The better
alternatives like greener technologies also needs to be developed according to the needs of the
nations. Moreover, there are many challenges in addressing to completely phase out the diesel
and petrol which contributes to a considerable amount of unburnt lead particles. However, with
improved research and technologies a more customized solution will enable reinforced
capabilities in handling the situation. The sources of ozone and particulate matter is generated
mostly from the anthropogenic activities hence there are millions of opportunities if we can limit
the pollution. These pollutants are mostly released from the non-renewable resources which can
impact a huge amount of pressure on the limited resources thus compromising on the future
generations. Sustainable management of the resources and tapping the unprecedented energy of
the renewables sources have a larger potential to combat against ozone and particulate matter.

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