Deck 5: Air-Quality Control

Question 1

Acid rain can be defined as

A) rain with ph higher than 7.
B) rain that is more acidic than "natural rain."
C) rain with a ph level less than 5.
D) rain with a ph level between 5 and 7.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Industrial developers would prefer to be located in an area designated Class I, because the air can degrade to slightly below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The most impressive result of the Clean Air Act so far has been

A) the reduction of lead emissions.
B) the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions.
C) the reduction of dioxin emissions.
D) the reduction of ozone emissions.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The courts initially supported the attempt by the EPA to weaken New Source Review under the Clean Air Act, but in 2006 reversed their earlier holding to prevent a significant weakening of the act.

Question 5

Under the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments, air quality regions classified as Class II:

A) already met the NAAQSs.
B) would be allowed to degrade so long as it still met the NAAQSs.
C) would not be allowed to degrade any further.
D) both a and b.

Question 6

Sick building syndrome"

A) is a phrase used to describe buildings before their construction is completed.
B) is often a result of poor ventilation.
C) can lead to impairment of the nervous system and cancer.
D) both b and c.

Question 7

By 1997, all of the NAAQSs had been met nationwide.

Question 8

Which of the following is not a conventional air pollutant?

A) ozone.
B) sulfur dioxide.
C) both a and b (neither is a conventional pollutant).
D) none of the above (both are conventional pollutants).

Question 9

In 2008, a court held that the Clean Air Mercury Rule violated the Clean Air Act.

Question 10

Acid rain

A) would not exist in the absence of man-made emissions of sulfur.
B) occurs only in industrialized areas.
C) is a difficult problem to solve because there is a lack of agreement as to the severity of the problem, the best way to solve the problem, and what ph level warrants the designation acid rain.
D) none of the above.

Question 11

One of the reasons for the ineffectiveness of early air pollution control legislation was that these laws imposed such strict standards on the states that the states rebelled and did not even attempt to meet these standards.

Question 12

State implementation plans:

A) are drawn up by the federal EPA, but administered by the state EPA.
B) are drawn up by the state, but must be approved by the federal EPA, and may be modified by the administrator of the federal EPA.
C) need not be prepared by a state unless they wish to obtain federal grant money for transportation projects.
D) none of the above.

Question 13

If the ambient air quality in a region is cleaner than mandated by the NAAQSs, the air quality will be allowed to degrade down to the level of the NAAQSs.

Question 14

Which was not an early act regulating air quality?

A) Air Pollution Control Act of 1955.
B) Motor Vehicle Control Act of 1960.
C) Clean Air Act of 1963.
D) none of the above.

Question 15

Which of the following is not currently regulated as a hazardous air pollutant?
A) Neither of the above are regulated.

A) radionuclides.
B) vinyl chloride.
C) Both of the above are regulated.

Question 16

Primary Ambient Air Quality Standards protect human health and Secondary Ambient Air Quality Standards protect the environment; the former are more stringent than the latter.

Question 17

Originally, the Acid Rain program focused on NO_x levels, and not SO₂ levels.

Question 18

The United States is home for only four percent of the population of the Earth, yet it is responsible for 20 percent of all greenhouse gases

Question 19

Reformulated gasoline

A) is a type of gasoline that produces no pollution.
B) is a problem-free way to reduce pollution.
C) is used in smoggy areas to reduce pollutant emissions.
D) uses only the oxygenate MTBE to make fuels cleaner.

Question 20

People have been monitoring the success of the Acid Rain Control Program carefully because it is the first major environmental program that is market-oriented.