Page 19 - Adsorption, Ion Exchange & Catalysis- 2007, Elsevier - Copy

Else_AIEC-INGLE_Ch001.qxd 7/13/2006 1:53 PM Page 15
1.1 Introduction 15

, the energy, industry and transportation sectors. The quality of air has deteriorated in virtu-
ally every Asian city, except for those in the Republic of Korea. The pollutant levels in these
cities exceed WHO guidelines. Acid rain is another important problem in Asia. An example
is the damage caused to the historic Taj Mahal in India by the local foundries, which used
to burn fuel. Similarly, in China, acid rain has damaged metal structures and concrete works
in cities of Chongging and Guiyan, where SO 2 emissions are high. Weather patterns in Asia
facilitate transboundary pollution. The potential was evident in the recent Indonesian forest
fires. The area affected by the air pollutants from the fire spread for more than 3200 km,
v
east to west, coering six Asian countries and affecting around 70 million people. In the
w ak, Malaysian state of Sara the air pollution index hit record leels of 839 (leels of 300 v v
are equivalent to smoking 80 cigarettes a day and are officially designated as “hazardous”).

Africa
The African continent is climatically diverse. Humid tropical conditions prevail in Western
and Central Africa and in the estern Indian Ocean islands; most Southern African coun- W
tries experience arid and semiarid conditions, while semideserts and deserts are features of
Northern Africa. The region experiences a high degree of variability and uncertainty in cli-
matic conditions. This continent is believed to be the most vulnerable region to the impacts
gions,
of climate change. In comparison to other re African countries emit ne gligible
amounts of air pollutants and anthropogenic greenhouse gases. For e Africa con- xample,
tributes less than 3.5% of global emissions of CO ertheless, . Ne anthropogenic atmos- v
2
pheric pollution is a problem in Northern and Southern Africa, and in some large cities,
mainly due to the lack of up-to-date technology .
Currently, 38% of Africa’s population lies in urban areas, but this percentage rises
v
continuously, with a projection to reach 54% by 2030. The increasing oerpopulation v
leads to a rise in vehicle emissions and greater industrialization, which in turn result in
air quality deterioration in the continent. In many countries, the use of leaded gasoline is
still widespread and vehicle emission controls are simply nonexistent. Dust from the
Sahara carrying pollutants has been detected in south Europe and een in the eastern part v
of the United States. South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt are the largest emitters of green-
house gases in Africa.

Australia
Air pollution problems in Australia are insignificant compared to cities such as Mexico City
and Athens. Australia is not densely inhabited and, being surrounded by oceans, does not
v
import pollution from other countries. Moreo various initiaties hae been taken for v v
er
,
, controlling the sources of air pollution. Specif the use of incinerators has been con- ically
siderably reduced, backurning has been banned,ve been located yard band power stations ha
ehicles, far from large cities. Regarding motor v the most significant air pollution threat in
Australia, new cars hae been equipped with catalytic conerters in their e v xhaust systems v
Australia, since 1986. However, in manthe combination of typical coastal condi- y cities in
tions (the major urban airsheds are located on coastal strips with mountain ranges nearby),
a high sunlight flux, and a large fleet of motor vehicles along with traf ic congestion will f
continue to give a finite number of occasions each year when photochemical smog or par-
ticulate matter will be formed. These conditions can be considerably exacerbated by the