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EMISSIONS INVENTORIES THEN, NOW, AND TOMORROW
Citation:
WERNER, A. S. AND D. MOBLEY. EMISSIONS INVENTORIES THEN, NOW, AND TOMORROW. EM: AIR AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION'S MAGAZINE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGERS. Air & Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, , 41-44, (2005).
Impact/Purpose:
The scientific modeling expertise of NERL/AMD technical staff often results in requests for staff participation in research planning and evaluation exercises and meetings both within EPA/ORD and in other research venues, including NOAA, NSF, DOE, and various public/private research efforts. Technical support is also requested for EPA/OAR programs for implementation of NAAQS for criteria pollutants. Staff participation in these exercises results in providing needed assistance to clients, broadening the experience base, perspective, and appreciation of the clients' needs by the AMD scientific staff, improved scientific interactions with research and regulatory colleagues, and increased visibility for NERL AMD programs.
Description:
As late as the 1970s, air pollution was viewed almost exclusively as an urban phenomenon associated with energy production and factories that was manifested as smog in Los Angeles, New York, London, and other large cities. Wark, K. and C.F. Warner. 1976. Air Pollution, Its Origins and Control. Harper and Row, New York, NY. For this reason, inventories of air pollutant emissions were originally developed at metropolitan-area scales. These inventories were used to evaluate the effectiveness of control strategies and as inputs for air quality models to evaluate locations for ambient air quality monitors. Stern, A.C., H.C. Wohlers, R.W. Boubel, W.P Lowry. 1973. Fundamentals of Air Pollution. Academic Press, New York, N.Y. The focus of initial emission inventory efforts was primarily on sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), lead (Pb), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Over the next several decades, emission inventories evolved to include hazardous air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants important to human health, ecological effects, and regional haze. Spatial coverage increased to encompass States, regions, countries, continents, and the entire globe. At the same time, the increased sophistication of air quality models increased the demand for finer spatial, temporal, and species resolution of emissions. As our understanding of pollutant effects increases, modeling sophistication grows, and more information is made available to the public in a more timely manner, the demands on inventory developers will increase.
Although this article has been reviewed and approved for publication, any views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.