Photochemical Oxidants And Air Pollution

Photochemical oxidants are secondary air pollutants formed under the influence of sunlight by complex photochemical reactions in air which contains nitrogen oxides and reactive hydrocarbons as precursors. The most adverse components formed by photochemical reactions in polluted air are ozone (0 ) 3 and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), among many other products such as aldehydes, ketones, organic and inorganic acids, nitrates, sulfates etc. An analysis and evaluation of the available knowledge has been used to characterize the relationships among emissions, ambient air concentrations, and effects, and to identify the important controlling influences on the formation and effects of photochemical oxidants. The biological activity of photochemical oxidants was first clearly manifested during the early 1940's, when vegetation injury was observed in the Los Angeles Basin in the United States. Since that time, as a consequence of the increasing emissions of photochemical oxidant precursors, the photochemical oxidants have become the most important air pollutants in North America. In other parts of the world, for example South and Central America, Asia, and Australia, photo chemical oxidants threaten vegetation, particularly the economic and ecological performance of plant life. According to my knowledge, the first observations of ozone and PAN injury to vegetation in Europe were made by Dr. Ellis F. Darley (Statewide Air Pollution Research Center, University of California, Riverside, California) during a study visit (1963/64) to the Federal Republic of Germany.

About 1900 references, intended as a balanced sample of available literature mostly from the period 1959-1970. Foreign literature is included. Entries are arranged under topics. Author, title, subject, and geographic location indexes.

Hardbound. This book gives a detailed description of the observed behaviour of photochemical oxidants, especially ozone, on the urban, regional, and global scales. The volume includes: basic introductions to the biochemistry and physics of biogenic and anthropogenic production of photochemical oxidant precursors; room-temperature rate coefficients for gas-phase reactions as an aid to intercomparison; the synthesis of recent observations of photochemical oxidants over all spatial and temporal scales of interest; and a large selection of examples from the real atmosphere.Throughout, the emphasis is on understanding topics under simplified or controlled conditions; this book will be of great value to photochemists, environmental chemists, and all those concerned with (atmospheric) pollution.