Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)

Cairo Campus
College of Computing and Information

UNR1601
Climate Change and Water Management
Ch [03] – Pollution & Man-made Impacts

Dr. Hassan A. Hassan

Construction & Building Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
AASTMT, Cairo Campus
Environmental Aspect
Environmental Aspect is the Features of a company’s operations, processes, activities,
products, or services that can have an impact (good or bad) on the environment. These
aspects could be inputs or outputs during the life cycle assessment of a product or a
service.

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Reasons for Identifying Environmental Aspects
Once the environmental aspect and the cause of that aspect have been identified, the next
step is to identify the potential environmental impacts associated with it that may
adversely affect the environment and human health. So the Reasons for Identifying
Environmental Aspects are :
• Guide the setting of new environmental objectives and targets as part of the
commitment to continual improvement.
• Focus operational controls on significant environmental aspects.
• Reduce risks from significant environmental aspects
• Identify training needs.

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Environmental Impact
An environmental impact is defined as any change to the environment, whether adverse
or beneficial, resulting from activities, products, or services. The adverse effects could be
on the air, land, water, and wildlife or the inhabitants of the ecosystem.
❑ Types of Environmental Impacts:
• Direct Impacts:
Occur through direct interaction of an activity with an environmental component.
• Indirect Impacts (secondary):
The impacts which are not a direct result of the activity, often produced away from or as a
result of a complex impact pathway.
• Cumulative Impacts:
Consist of an impacts that are created as a result of the
combination of several activities. These impacts are
combined with the cumulative effects of other past, present
and reasonably foreseeable future projects.
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Environmental Impact
Pollution, contamination, or destruction that occurs as a consequence of an action, that
can have short-term or long-term ramifications is considered an environmental impact.
Pollution is Classified on the basis of the form (source) into (natural and man-made).
❑ Natural Impact:
• Physical Impact (Wind, Earthquakes, volcano,..).
• Biological Impact (Bacteria).
❑ Man-Made Impact:
• Global warming
• Ozone layer depletion
• Acid rain
• Air, water, or land Pollution
• Loss of biodiversity

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Global warming
Increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere
and oceans, especially a sustained increase sufficient to cause
climatic change. This phenomenon is due to a build-up of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Source Result Output Outcome Impact Solution

Carbon dioxide greenhouse Floods Clean
Industry
(CO2 ) caused soil production
Open burning Methane (C𝐻4 ) erosion BAT& BEP
Climatic
Global then
Nitrous oxide Change Solid waste
warming destroy the
Transportation (N2 O) strategy
crop and
famine

Note :
BAT : Best Available Technique & BEP : Best Environmental Practice 6
Ozone Depletion
Ozone layer depletion, is reduction of the amount of ozone in the
stratosphere. Depletion begins when chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) get
into the stratosphere.

Source Result Output Outcome Impact Solution

Refrigerator CFC Increase
Industry ultraviolet
Firefighting radiation Implement
Montreal
Reducing Layer Skin
Plastics Protocol
O3 depletion Cancer
Manufacture Halons (Replace
weak halon, CFC)
Immune
System
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Acid rain
Rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes
environmental harm, chiefly to forests and lakes. The main
cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the
waste gases from which contain Sulphur and nitrogen oxides
which combine with atmospheric water to form acids.

Source Result Output Outcome Impact Solution

Destruction Cleaner
Industry S of forests Production
Sulfuric
Health
acid Acid Rain Solid
Problem
Open (𝐻2 SO4 ) waste
N Building
burning Strategy
Damage

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Air Pollution
Occurs when harmful or excessive quantities of substances
including gases, particulates, and biological molecules are
introduced into Earth's atmosphere. It may cause diseases and
death of humans; it may also cause harm to other living
organisms such as animals and food crops, and may damage the
natural or built environment. Human activity and natural
processes can both generate air pollution.

Source Result Output Outcome Impact Solution

Industry Air pollutant Lung
BAT& BEP
(Carbon disease
Open burning dioxide (CO2) , Loss of air Cleaner
Sulfur Air Cancer
quality (Air Production
Oxides (SOx), pollution
Transportation degradation) Solid waste
Carbon Respiratory Strategy
Monoxide infections
(CO) ) 9
WAYS TO MEASURE AIR POLLUTION
Air quality index (AQI) is a measure used for reporting the daily air quality, by factoring the
level of Pollution in the air. Different countries use different indices for measuring air
quality by monitoring some or all of the following Pollution: carbon monoxide, PM2.5,
PM10, Nitrogen dioxide, ground Ozone (O3), Sulphur dioxide among others.

Pm 10 < 10 µm
Particular matter
Pm 2.5 < 2.5 µm

𝑆𝑂2
𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
Criteria of air pollutants 𝑁𝑂2

𝐶𝑂

Quantity Toxicity 𝑃𝑏

𝑂3 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

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Exposure Limits
Exposure Limits defined in three ways:
• Time Weighted Average (TWA):
is a method of calculating a worker’s daily exposure to hazardous substances
• Ceiling:
is the maximum concentration to which an unprotected worker may be exposed

• Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL):

is the time-weighted average concentration of a substance over a 15 min period

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National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Pllutant Level Average time
9 PPm (10 mg/𝑚3 ) 8 hrs
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
35 PPm (40 mg/𝑚3 ) 1 hr
0.053 PPm (100 μg/𝑚3 ) Annual arithmetic mean
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
0.100 PPm 1 hr
Ozone (O3) 0.075 PPm 8 hrs
0.03 PPm Annual arithmetic mean
0.14 PPm 24 hrs
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
3 hrs (secondary
0.5 PPm
Standard)
Particular matter (PM-10) 150 μg/𝑚3 24 hrs
15 μg/m3 Annual arithmetic mean
Particular matter (PM-2.5)
35 μg/𝑚3 24 hrs
Lead (Pb) 0.15 μg/𝑚3 3 month rolling average

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Time Weighted Average (TWA)
Time-weighted average (TWA) is a method of calculating a worker’s daily exposure to
hazardous substances such as dust, fumes, chemicals, gases, or vapors. It is averaged to an
8-hour workday or 40-hour week, along with the average levels of exposure to the
hazardous substance and the time spent in that area.
TWA exposures for an eight hour work shift are calculated as follows:
E = (Ca Ta + CbTb + .... CnTn ) / 8
Where:
• E: the equivalent exposure for the eight hour working shift
• C: the concentration during any period of time T where the concentration remains
constant
• T: the duration in hours of the exposure at concentration C

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Air Quality Index
The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air
is, and what associated health concerns you should be aware of. The AQI focuses on health
effects that can happen within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air.
EPA uses the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level
ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each
of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect against
harmful health effects.

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Air Quality Index
Air quality index (AQI) is a measure used for reporting the daily air quality, by factoring the
level of Pollution in the air. Different countries use different indices for measuring air
quality by monitoring some or all of the following Pollution: carbon monoxide, PM2.5,
PM10, Nitrogen dioxide, ground Ozone (O3), Sulphur dioxide among others.
Breakpoint

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How to CALCULATE THE AQI
The AQI is the highest value calculated for each pollutant as follows:
a. Identify the highest concentration among all of the monitors within each reporting area
and truncate in the following table.
b. Find the two breakpoints that contain the concentration.
c. Using Equation 1, calculate the index
d. Round the index to the nearest integer.

Ozone (ppm) truncate to 3 decimal places

PM2.5 (µg/𝑚3 ) truncate to 1 decimal place
PM10 (µg/𝑚3 ) truncate to integer
CO (ppm) truncate to 1 decimal place
SO2 (ppb) truncate to integer
NO2 (ppb) truncate to integer

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How to CALCULATE THE AQI
Breakpoints for the AQI

𝑰𝑯𝒊 − 𝑰𝑳𝒐
𝑰𝑷 = (𝑪𝑷 - 𝑩𝑷𝑳𝒐 ) + 𝑰𝑳𝒐 Equation 1
𝑩𝑷𝑯𝒊 −𝑩𝑷𝑳𝒐

Where:
𝑰𝑷 = the index for pollutant p
𝑪𝑷 = the truncated concentration of pollutant p
𝑩𝑷𝑯𝒊 = the concentration breakpoint that is greater than or equal to 𝑪𝑷
𝑩𝑷𝑳𝒐 = the concentration breakpoint that is less than or equal to 𝑪𝑷
𝑰𝑯𝒊 = the AQI value corresponding to 𝑩𝑷𝑯𝒊
𝑩𝑷 𝑯𝒊
𝑰𝑳𝒐 = the AQI value corresponding to 𝑩𝑷𝑳𝒐 𝑪 𝑷

𝑩𝑷𝑳𝒐

𝑰𝑳𝒐 𝑰𝑷 𝑰𝑯𝒊

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How to CALCULATE THE AQI
Breakpoints for the AQI
O3 (ppm) O3 (ppm) PM2.5 (μg/m3 ) PM10 (μg/m3 ) CO (ppm) SO2 (ppb) 1- NO2 (ppb) AQI
8-hour 1-hour1 24-hour 24-hour 8-hour hour 1-hour category
0.000 - 0.054 - 0.0 – 12.0 0 - 54 0.0 - 4.4 0 - 35 0 - 53 0 - 50 Good
0.055 - 0.070 - 12.1 – 35.4 55 - 154 4.5 - 9.4 36 - 75 54 - 100 51 - 100 Moderate
0.071 - 0.085 0.125 - 0.164 35.5 – 55.4 155 - 254 9.5 - 12.4 76 - 185 101 - 360 101 - 150 Unhealthy for
Sensitive Groups
0.086 - 0.105 0.165 - 0.204 (55.5 - 150.4)3 255 - 354 12.5 - 15.4 (186 - 304)4 361 - 649 151 - 200 Unhealthy
0.106 - 0.200 0.205 - 0.404 (150.5 - 250.4)3 355 - 424 15.5 - 30.4 (305 - 604)4 650 - 1249 201 - 300 Very unhealthy
(2) 0.405 - 0.504 (250.5 - 350.4)3 425 - 504 30.5 - 40.4 (605 - 804)4 1250 - 301 - 400 Hazardous
1649
(2) 0.505 - 0.604 (350.5 - 500.4)3 505 - 604 40.5 - 50.4 (805 - 1004)4 1650 - 401 - 500 Hazardous
2049

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AQI
Example:
Suppose you have an 8-hour ozone value of 0.07853333.
• First, truncate the value to 0.078.
• Then, refer to the 8-hour ozone in breakpoint table for the values that fall above and
below your value (0.071-0.085). In this case, the 0.078 value falls within the index values
of 101 to 150.
• Now you have all the numbers needed to use the equation.
(150 −101)
AQI = (0.078 – 0.071) + 101 ≅ 126
(0.085 −0.071)

So an 8-hour value of 0.07853333 corresponds to an index value of 126.

Note: For different pollution, calculate the AQI then choose the highest AQI as the
final score.
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