Regional Differences in Ozone
Region 2: New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico
Local Souces of VOCs
In Region 2, more than one-third of human-created VOCs comes from solvent use, compared with the nation as a whole, where only 27 percent comes from those sources. The region’s vehicles, both highway and off-road, generate about the same portion of VOCs in these states as they do in the nation (28% and 15% respectively in the region, versus 29% and 18% nationally). Industrial sources, including chemical, metals, petroleum and other industries, comprise 6 percent, which is comparable to the national rate of 7 percent. In 1999, Region 2 produced 1.149 million tons of VOCs.
Local Sources of NOx
Highway vehicles represent a much higher portion of NOx emissions in Region 2 (40%) than the nation as a whole (33%). The portion from off-highway vehicles is slightly lower in the Region, at 20 percent, than the national percentage (22%). Significantly, emissions from electric utilities are much lower, at 15 percent, than nationally (23%). Industrial fuel combustion is also much lower, at 7 percent than the national percentage (12%), but combustion from other sources is significantly higher (14% versus 5%), so the percentage of total fuel combustion from all three sources (electric utilities, industrial and others) is slightly less in the region (36%) than the national rate (40%). In 1999, Region 2 produced 1.305 million tons of NOx.
Trends
Ozone emissions in Region 2 declined by 8 percent from 1982 to 2001, a rate slightly lower than the nation as a whole, which dropped 11 percent in the same period. However, during the 1990s, the regional ozone level declined by only 1 percent.
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