Air Quality, Transportation & Energy
Class #5
Homework:
Homework #4. (The regulatory definitions applicable to your hypothetical hazardous air pollutant source). Assignment must be completed and submitted prior to this class.
Laws and regulations applicable to "Mobile Sources" of air pollution
You will recall that in our last class we discussed sources of air pollution based on broad source categories. The three broad classifications we defined were:
Stationary Sources
Mobile Sources
Area Sources
Today we are going to shift from stacks and vents to the more challenging task of regulating things that move around, i.e. "mobile sources". Some will argue that the "federalization" of air quality management in the U.S. has had its greatest impact on cleaning up mobile sources of air pollution. Those of us who used to tinker with auto engines, carburetors, distributors, leaded gasoline, etc. are keenly aware that those relatively simple, but elegant and powerful internal combustion engines are long gone. We still have the autos and their I.C. engines, but they are far from simple. Our tinkering days are over!
Why? Largely due to greatly advanced combustion control systems that cause 1998 model year vehicles to emit only a small fraction of the air pollution of the 400+ H.P. engines common in the late 1950’s.
- Leaded gasoline is gone.
- Carburetors have been replaced by
computers.
- Catalytic convertors are integral
parts of our exhaust systems.
The result has been major reductions in emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons as measured on a "grams per mile" basis.
In this class we’re going to explore how we have achieved such remarkable progress; and why, if we have made such progress, 100 million residents of U.S. cities still breathe unhealthful concentrations of pollutants from these very same vehicle exhausts.
See Power Point presentation on Mobile Sources.
ENV 410A -
Lectures