Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly to the atmosphere but are formed when primary pollutants react in the atmosphere (Green Facts, 2004). Unlike the primary pollutants that are emitted directly to the atmosphere, secondary pollutants are a combination of gases with oxygen and sunlight. The secondary pollutants can be classified into different forms of pollutants. The examples includes: Ozone, acid rain, photochemical smog, nitrogen dioxide, sulphuric acid, these are discussed in the essay. The essay made use of material in the Open Educational Resources (OERs). The OERs are defined as any educational material found in the public domain which allows any use to freely copy, share adapt and reshape. This includes: lecturer notes, assignments, videos, textbooks. Thus this essay was written after consultation of various sources. Different secondary pollutants were identified,…show more content… It also comes to the earth surface through acid rain and acidifies lakes and streams and destroy plants and fish life in the aquatic environment. In the soil it depletes mineral nutrients. It causes reduced forests and agricultural yields, corrodes metals and damage surface buildings (EPA, 2014).
5. PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG
The term smog refers to smoke plus fog. Smog is formed through the photochemical reaction of nitrogen dioxide to form ozone. Incomplete combustion of fuel in vehicles produce nitrogen oxide which when it’s absorbed by solar radiation it forms ozone. Then ozone reacts with other different hydrocarbons and produce a brownish yellow gaseous clouds. This combination of numerous chemical compounds is what is called photochemical smog. Sources of photochemical smog are vehicle engines, industrial
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emissions, vapour from service stations, surface coatings and thinners, natural gas leakage. The picture below illustrates how smog is formed.
5.1 Environmental and health