1 Pollutants of Concern in North America and Europe John G. Watson ([email protected]) Judith C. Chow Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA presented at The Workshop on Air Quality Management, Measurement, Modeling, and Health Effects University of Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia May 24, 2007
Pollutants of Concern in North America and Europe. John G. Watson ([email protected]) Judith C. Chow Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA presented at The Workshop on Air Quality Management, Measurement, Modeling, and Health Effects University of Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia May 24, 2007. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Pollutants of Concern in North America and Europe John G. Watson ([email protected])
Judith C. Chow Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
presented at
The Workshop on Air Quality Management, Measurement, Modeling, and Health Effects
University of Zagreb
Zagreb, Croatia
May 24, 2007
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Objectives
• Identify air pollutants and reasons for concern
• Describe different approaches to improving air quality
3Several air pollutant categories and concerns
• Criteria Pollutants
– indicators of air quality with maximum concentrations above which adverse effects on human health may occur (CO, SO2, NO2, O3, Pb, PM [TSP, RSP, PM10, PM2.5])
• Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs, or toxics)
– emissions known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects, birth defects, or other adverse environmental effects (many VOCs, metals, PAHs, diesel particles)
– reactive or decolorizing pollutants that destroy or soil buildings, clothing, vehicles, antiquities (SO2, H2SO4, HNO3, O3, soot [BC: black carbon], soil dust)
• Odors
– unpleasant olfactory experiences (reduced sulfur compounds, certain VOCs)
• Mercury
– included in HAPs, but also results in bioaccumulation in lakes and fish through deposition
5Several air pollutant categories and concerns
• Visibility Reducing Gases and PM
– PM2.5 components, including sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, organic carbon, elemental carbon, sea salt, and soil. NO2 absorbs light in plumes
• Halocarbons
– deplete stratospheric O3 (Freon-12, SF6, halon, other fluorocarbons)
• Climate Forcing Gases and PM
– change the Earth’s radiation balance directly by absorbing electromagnetic radiation or indirectly by changing cloud cover and water vapor (CO2, CH4, halocarbons, BC, ultrafine particles)
6Same pollutants in several categories • Many pollutants are in several regulatory categories (e.g.,
SO2, NOx, VOCs, SO4=, NO3
-, BC)
• Several pollutants come from similar activities (coal burning, industrial processes, vegetative burning, transportation, windblown dust)
• Several have similar spatial scales and lifetimes– Microscale (10 to 100 m) and Middle-scale (100 to 500 m): odors, traffic,
HAPs, dustfall
– Neighborhood-scale (500 m to 4 km): vehicle exhaust, residential heating and burning, primary industrial emissions
– Urban-scale (4 to 100 km): O3, secondary sulfates and nitrates
– Regional-scale (100 to 1,000 km): O3, secondary sulfates and nitrates, forest fires, regional haze
– Continental-scale (1,000 to 10,000 km): large scale fires, Asian and Saharan dust
– Global-scale (>10,000 km): greenhouse gases, halocarbons, BC
Problem: O3 and PM2.5 are remaining problems at local and regional levels
Ozone Nonattainment (226 Counties)
PM2.5 Nonattainment (49 Counties)
Both Nonattainment (71 Counties)
Counties Exceeding the Ozone and PM2.5 NAAQS in 2002
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Emerging air quality issues
• Greenhouse gases and particles: How can these emissions be reduced along with other pollutants? How can they be regulated?
• Long-range transport: Emissions from China, India, Latin America, and Africa are rising and affect concentrations in Europe and the U.S. How can these emissions be controlled?
• Multi-pollutant control strategies and effects: Are individual pollutant regulations still adequate?
• Ultrafine particles: Are these the real causes of PM health effects?
• Unintended consequences: How to anticipate people’s reaction to pollution regulations?
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Hour
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011121314151617181920212223
Dia
me
ter (n
m)
10
100
0 10000 20000 40000 50000 30000
Vehicle Exhaust, Residential Heating and Cooking
Photochemical Nucleation
Vehicle Exhaust
Part
icle
Dia
mete
r (n
m)
dN/dlogDp (number cm-3)
Ultrafine particles come from primary emitters and form in the
atmosphere
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Saharan dust affects southern Europe
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Conclusions
• Criteria pollutants (CO, SO2, NO2, O3, Pb, and PM [TSP, RSP, PM10, PM2.5]) are the basis for air quality regulation, but they are not the only ones of importance
• Europe and US have successfully reduced exposures to CO, SO2, NO2, and Pb, but O3 and PM are still of concern
• Remaining pollutants have regional sources and require regional strategies for reduction
• Emerging economies (China, India, etc) are increasing emissions, and these affect Europe and the US
• Greenhouse gases and particles that affect climate and ultrafine particles that affect health will become more important pollutants to be regulated in the future