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| 6215947745 | Air pollution | The introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or microorganisms into the atmosphere at concentrations high enough to harm plants, animals, and materials such as buildings, or to alter ecosystems | 0 | |
| 6215947746 | Primary pollutant | Polluting compounds that come directly out of the smoke-stack, exhaust pip, or natural emission source; ie CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, and most suspended particulate matter | 1 | |
| 6215947747 | Secondary pollutants | Pollutants that have undergone transformation in the presence of sunlight, water, oxygen, or other compounds; ie ozone, sulfate and nitrate | 2 | |
| 6215947748 | Thermal Inversion | When a relatively warm layer of air at mid-altitude covers a layer of cold, dense air below. The warm inversion layer traps emissions that then accumulate beneath it | 3 | |
| 6215947749 | Acid deposition | Occurs when nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere and combine with atmospheric oxygen and water. These form the secondary pollutants nitric acid and sulfuric acid (which further break down into nitrate and sulfate which cause the acid in acid deposition) | 4 | |
| 6215947750 | Asbestos | Pollutant used in pipe insulation, vinyl ceiling and floor tiles; Causes lung cancer | 5 | |
| 6215947751 | Formaldehyde | Pollutant used in furniture stuffing, paneling, particleboard, foam insulation; Causes irritaion of eyes and trhoat, skin and lungs | 6 | |
| 6215947752 | Chloroform | Pollutant used in chlorine treated water in hot showers; Causes cancer | 7 | |
| 6215947753 | Para-dichlorobenzene | Pollutant used in air fresheners, mothball crystals; Causes cancer | 8 | |
| 6215947754 | Radon | Radioactive pollutant found in some soils and rocks, can seep into some houses and increase the risk of lung cancer | 9 | |
| 6215947755 | Ground level pollution | Pollution in the troposphere, the first 16 km (10 miles) of the atmosphere above the surface of Earth | 10 | |
| 6215947756 | Tropospheric ozone (O3) | Harmful to both plants and animals and causes respiratory inflammations such as asthma and emphysema; Smog is seen here | 11 | |
| 6215947757 | Haze | Reduced visibility | 12 | |
| 6215947758 | Photochemical smog | A brownish haze that is a mixture of ozone and other chemicals, formed when pollutants react with each other in the presence of sunlight | 13 | |
| 6215947759 | Gray smog | Nitrous oxide smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal | 14 | |
| 6215947760 | Atmospheric brown cloud | The combination of particulate matter and ozone | 15 | |
| 6215947761 | Natural sources of Sulfur dioxide | -Volcanic eruptions -Forest fires | 16 | |
| 6215947762 | Natural sources of Nitrogen oxide | -Forest fires -Lightning -Microbial action in soils | 17 | |
| 6215947763 | Natural sources of Carbon oxide | -Respiration of plants | 18 | |
| 6215947764 | Natural sources of Particulate matter | -Volcanoes -Forest fires -Dust storms | 19 | |
| 6215947765 | NAAQS (National ambient air quality standards) | Requires EPA to set 40 CFR part 50 for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment | 20 | |
| 6215947766 | Clean Air Act | 1970; Set emission standards for cars, and limits for release of air pollutants; Regulates the 6 main pollutants (SOx, NOx, CO, PM, O3, Pb) | 21 | |
| 6215947767 | Anthracite | Low sulfur coal | 22 | |
| 6215947768 | Fluidized bed combustion | The most efficient way to burn coal; reduces NOx and SOx emissions from coal; has issues with polyaromatic hydrocarbon formation | 23 | |
| 6215947769 | Baghouse filter | An instillation containing thousands of heat-resistant fiberglass bags to control particulate emissions; Works as a room size vacuum cleaner | 24 | |
| 6215947770 | Scrubber | A device that uses water droplets to clean smokestack emissions | 25 | |
| 6215947771 | Electrostatic precipitator | A device used for removing particulates from smokestack emissions. The charged particles are attracted to an oppositely charged metal plate, where they are precipitated out of the air | 26 | |
| 6215947772 | Pollution permits | Federal permits allowing public utilities to release specific amounts of emissions into the air | 27 | |
| 6215947773 | Ozone layer hole | The seasonal thinning of the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere above Antarctica; Allows abnormal amounts of ultra-violet light to reach the earth's surface | 28 | |
| 6215947774 | Sick building syndrome | A condition in which the majority of a building's occupants experience certain symptoms that vary with the amount of time spent in the building, without being able to identify a specified cause or illness | 29 | |
| 6215947775 | Stratospheric ozone | Ozone (15 to 30 km above Earth's surface) that absorbs UV light | 30 | |
| 6215947776 | Polar vortex | Arctic air masses that in the winter become isolated from the rest of the atmosphere and circulate about the pole; Rotates counterclockwise | 31 | |
| 6215947777 | Montreal Protocol | An international agreement signed in 1987 by 105 countries and the European Community; Called for a reduction in the production and consumption of CFCs of 50 percent by 2000 | 32 | |
| 6215947778 | Mobile sources | Sources of air pollutants that move from place to place; Ie automobiles, trucks, buses, and trains | 33 | |
| 6215947779 | Stationary sources | Non-moving sources of pollution; Ie factories | 34 | |
| 6215947780 | Cataracts | Clouding of the lens of the eye | 35 | |
| 6215947781 | UV radiation | Energy from the sun that damages DNA structure, increases mutation rate, and causes skin cancer | 36 | |
| 6215947782 | Melanoma | Skin cancer | 37 | |
| 6215947783 | Thermosphere | The outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere; Temperature increases as altitude increases |  | 38 |
| 6215947784 | Stratosphere | Second layer of atmosphere (12 to 50 km), Ozone held here, absorbs UV radiation | | 39 |
| 6215947785 | Mesosphere | Third layer of the atmosphere (50 to 80 km), most meteorites burn up here | | 40 |
| 6215947786 | Troposphere | First layer of the atmosphere (0 to 17 km), contains most atmospheric water vapor. | | 41 |
| 6215947787 | Tropopause | The transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere | 42 | |
| 6215947788 | Stratopause | the transition between the stratosphere and the mesosphere | 43 | |
| 6215947789 | Mesopause | the transition between the mesosphere and the thermosphere | 44 | |
| 6215947790 | Carbon Monoxide (CO) | Pollutant found in malfunctioning exhaust systems on household heaters, most typically natural gas heaters; Causes oxygen deprivation in the brain and ultimately death | 45 | |
| 6215947791 | Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | Pollutant found indoors if household has poor ventilation system; Causes oxygen deprivation | 46 | |
| 6215947792 | Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) | Pollutant found in refrigeration, air conditioning, aersol cans, foam insulation; Causes skin cancer, cataracts, and weakened immune system | 47 | |
| 6215947793 | Fine Particles (PM10/PM2.5) | Pollutant found in coal, oil, diesel, and biofuels; Causes respiratory and cardiovascular disease | 48 | |
| 6215947794 | Lead (Pb) | Pollutant found in gasoline, additive, oil, and old paint; Causes damage to central nervous system | 49 | |
| 6215947795 | Mercury (Hg) | Pollutant found in coal, oil, and gold mining; Causes damage to central nervous system | 50 | |
| 6215947796 | Nitric Acid (HNO3) | Pollutant found in fertilizers, explosives, dyes, plastics and cleaning solutions; Causes irritation to skin | 51 | |
| 6215947797 | Nitric Oxides (NOx (NO/NO2)) | Pollutant found in all combustion in the atmosphere; Causes respiratory irritation | 52 | |
| 6215947798 | Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) | Pollutant found in combustion of fuels that contain sulfur; Causes respiratory irritation | 53 | |
| 6215947799 | Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) | Pollutant found in detergents, soaps, fertilizers and lead-acid batteries; Causes skin irritation | 54 | |
| 6215947800 | VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) | Pollutant found in evaporation of fuels, solvents, and paints; Results in ozone deformation | 55 |
