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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

GLOBAL SOURCES OF LOCAL POLLUTION

An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States

Committee on the Significance of International Transport of Air Pollutants

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

500 Fifth street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under contract number EP-D-08-0530. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the intelligence community or any of its sub-agencies.

International Standard Book Number 13: 978-0-309-14401-8

International Standard Book Number 10: 0-309-14401-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009941434

Additional copies of this report are available from the

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Copyright 2010 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine


The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.


The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.


The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.


The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.


www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

COMMITTEE ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT OF AIR POLLUTANTS

CHARLES E. KOLB (Chair),

Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts

TAMI BOND,

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

GREGORY R. CARMICHAEL,

University of Iowa, Iowa City

KRISTIE L. EBI,

IPCC Working Group II Technical Support Unit, Stanford, California

DAVID P. EDWARDS,

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

HENRY FUELBERG,

Florida State University, Tallahassee

MAE S. GUSTIN,

University of Nevada, Reno

JIMING HAO,

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

DANIEL J. JACOB,

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

DANIEL A. JAFFE,

University of Washington, Bothell

SONIA KREIDENWEIS,

Colorado State University, Ft. Collins

KATHARINE S. LAW,

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France

MICHAEL J. PRATHER,

University of California, Irvine

STACI L. MASSEY SIMONICH,

Oregon State University, Corvallis

MARK H. THIEMENS,

University of California, San Diego

BASC Liaison

KIMBERLY PRATHER,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

NRC Staff

LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer

RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Program Officer

ROB GREENWAY, Program Associate

KAMWETI MUTU, Research Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE

F. SHERWOOD ROWLAND (Chair),

University of California, Irvine

ROSINA M. BIERBAUM,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

ANTONIO J. BUSALACCHI JR.,

University of Maryland, College Park

RICHARD CARBONE,

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

WALTER F. DABBERDT,

Vaisala Inc., Boulder, Colorado

KIRSTIN DOW,

University of South Carolina, Columbia

GREG S. FORBES,

The Weather Channel Inc., Atlanta, Georgia

ISAAC HELD,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Princeton, New Jersey

ARTHUR LEE,

Chevron Corporation, San Ramon, California

RAYMOND T. PIERREHUMBERT,

University of Chicago, Illinois

KIMBERLY PRATHER,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

KIRK R. SMITH,

University of California, Berkeley

JOHN T. SNOW,

University of Oklahoma, Norman

THOMAS H. VONDER HAAR,

Colorado State University/CIRA, Fort Collins

XUBIN ZENG,

University of Arizona, Tucson

Ex Officio Members

GERALD A. MEEHL,

National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

NRC Staff

CHRIS ELFRING, Director

LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer

IAN KRAUCUNAS, Senior Program Officer

CURTIS H. MARSHALL, Senior Program Officer

MARTHA MCCONNELL, Associate Program Officer

TOBY WARDEN, Associate Program Officer

RITA GASKINS, Administrative Coordinator

KATIE WELLER, Research Associate

ROB GREENWAY, Program Associate

AMANDA PURCELL, Senior Program Assistant

SHELLY FREELAND, Senior Program Assistant

RICARDO PAYNE, Program Assistant

JANEISE STURDIVANT, Program Assistant

SHUBHA BANSKOTA, Financial Associate

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY

ROGENE F. HENDERSON (Chair),

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM

RAMO N ALVAREZ,

Environmental Defense Fund, Austin, TX

TINA BAHADORI,

American Chemistry Council, Arlington, VA

JOHN M. BALBUS,

George Washington University, Washington, DC

MICHAEL J. BRADLEY,

M.J. Bradley & Associates, Concord, MA

DALLAS BURTRAW,

Resources for the Future, Washington, DC

JAMES S. BUS,

Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

JONATHAN Z. CANNON,

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

GAIL CHARNLEY,

HealthRisk Strategies, Washington, DC

RUTH DEFRIES,

Columbia University, New York, NY

RICHARD A. DENISON,

Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, DC

H. CHRISTOPHER FREY,

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

J. PAUL GILMAN,

Covanta Energy Corporation, Fairfield, NJ

RICHARD M. GOLD,

Holland & Knight, LLP, Washington, DC

LYNN R. GOLDMAN,

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

JUDITH A. GRAHAM (retired),

Pittsboro, NC

HOWARD HU,

University of Michigan, Ann Harbor

ROGER E. KASPERSON,

Clark University, Worcester, MA

TERRY L. MEDLEY,

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, DE

DANNY D. REIBLE,

University of Texas, Austin

JOSEPH V. RODRICKS,

ENVIRON International Corporation, Arlington, VA

ROBERT F. SAWYER,

University of California, Berkeley

KIMBERLY M. THOMPSON,

Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA

MARK J. UTELL,

University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY

NRC Staff

JAMES J. REISA, Director

DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Scholar

RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Program Officer for Environmental Studies

EILEEN N. ABT, Senior Program Officer for Risk Analysis

SUSAN N.J. MARTEL, Senior Program Officer for Toxicology

KULBIR S. BAKSHI, Senior Program Officer

ELLEN K. MANTUS, Senior Program Officer

RUTH E. CROSSGROVE, Senior Editor

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

Acknowledgments

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

BETSY ANCKER-JOHNSON, General Motors Corporation (retired), Austin, Texas

ELLIOT ATLAS, University of Miami, Florida

RICHARD BURNETT, Health Canada, Ottawa

ELVIN HEIBERG III, Heiberg Associates. Inc., Arlington, Virginia

RUDOLPH HUSAR, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

QINBIN LI, Univeristy of California, Los Angeles

ARTHUR LEE, Chevron Corporation, San Ramon, California

DENISE MAUZERALL, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

NICOLA PIRRONE, CNR-Institute for Atmosperhic Pollution, Monterotondo, Italy

YANNIS YORTSOS, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by William Randel, National Center for Atmospheric Research. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

We offer our sincere thanks to the staff who supported the work of this committee, including our study director, Laurie Geller, and our Program Associate, Rob Greenway. We also thank the many people who offered direct input to the committee with meeting presentations and personal, phone, or email discussions, including: Terry Keating, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; John Bachmann, Vision Air Consulting; Dan Reifsnyder and Susan Gardener, U.S. Department of State; Bryan Wood-Thomas, American Shipping Council; Joe Prospero, University of Miami; Arlene Fiore and Hiram Levy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory; Hongbin Yu, Drew Shindell, and Jim Crawford, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; A.R. Ravishankara, NOAA; Denise Mauzerall, Princeton University; Chris Shaver, Colleen Flanagan, and Ellen Porter, National Park Service; Kim Prather, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and Sherwood Rowland, University of California, Irvine.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
   

 Key PM Transport Patterns and Effects on Surface Concentrations,

 

78

   

 Modeling and Attribution of PM Transport and Trends,

 

81

   

 Future Projections of Factors Influencing PM Surface Concentrations,

 

87

   

 Key Findings and Recommendations,

 

90

4

 

MERCURY

 

97

   

 Atmospheric Mercury Primer,

 

97

   

 Atmospheric Mercury Concentrations,

 

100

   

 Sources and Sinks of Atmospheric Mercury,

 

101

   

 Atmospheric Mercury Deposition,

 

105

   

 Relationship Between Mercury Deposition and Ecosystem Impacts,

 

106

   

 Source Attribution for Hg Deposited to the United States,

 

107

   

 Key Findings and Recommendations,

 

109

5

 

PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

 

113

   

 Sources and Global Regulatory Status,

 

113

   

 Toxicological Relevance,

 

115

   

 Atmospheric Fate and Intermedia Transport,

 

116

   

 Emission Inventories,

 

117

   

 U.S. Inflow and Outflow of POPs,

 

117

   

 Existing POP Modeling Capabilities,

 

119

   

 New POPs,

 

121

   

 Climate Change and POPs,

 

121

   

 Key Findings and Recommendations,

 

122

6

 

CROSSCUTTING ISSUES AND SYNTHESIS

 

125

   

 Crosscutting Issues,

 

125

   

 Strengthening Integrated Systems for Tracking and Attribution of Long-Range Transport of Pollution,

 

139

   

 Summary of Key Messages,

 

146

 

 

REFERENCES

 

151

 

 

APPENDIXES

 

 

A

 

COMMITTEE SPONSORS, STATEMENT OF TASK, AND SCHEDULE

 

191

B

 

TECHNICAL DISCUSSION OF ATMPOSPHERIC TRANSPORT MECHANISMS

 

193

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
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×
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×
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×
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×
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×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
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×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
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Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12743.
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Recent advances in air pollution monitoring and modeling capabilities have made it possible to show that air pollution can be transported long distances and that adverse impacts of emitted pollutants cannot be confined to one country or even one continent. Pollutants from traffic, cooking stoves, and factories emitted half a world away can make the air we inhale today more hazardous for our health. The relative importance of this "imported" pollution is likely to increase, as emissions in developing countries grow, and air quality standards in industrial countries are tightened.

Global Sources of Local Pollution examines the impact of the long-range transport of four key air pollutants (ozone, particulate matter, mercury, and persistent organic pollutants) on air quality and pollutant deposition in the United States. It also explores the environmental impacts of U.S. emissions on other parts of the world. The book recommends that the United States work with the international community to develop an integrated system for determining pollution sources and impacts and to design effective response strategies.

This book will be useful to international, federal, state, and local policy makers responsible for understanding and managing air pollution and its impacts on human health and well-being.

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