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Regional Differences on Sources for Ozone and Particle Pollution
Region 1: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont
Local Sources of VOCs
VOC sources in this region are very similar to those in the nation as a whole. The largest sources generated by human activity are highway vehicles and solvent uses, which make up 29 percent each. Off-highway vehicles make up 20 percent. The next largest categories are other fuel combustion (7%), storage and transport (6%) and waste disposal and recycling (5%). Total tons generated by human activity in 1999 were 747,249, the lowest of all the 10 regions.
Local sources of NO x
Highway vehicles make up a much larger percentage of NOx emissions in New England than in the nation as a whole. Off-highway vehicles are the same percentage as the nation (22%). However, cleaner power plants in the region result in electric utilities contributing only 9 percent of the region’s NOx emissions. Other fuel combustion (8%) generates a slightly higher percentage of NOx than the nation as a whole, while NOx from industrial fuel consumption is much lower than the nation at 6 percent. Total tons generated by human activity in 1999: 745,050, the lowest of all the regions.
Local sources of Particle Pollution (PM 2.5)
Other fuel combustion sources from residential woodstoves and fireplaces and other processes burning fuel in residential, commercial and institutional settings comprised the largest source of particle pollution in New England (44%); this figure exceeds the national average for particle pollution by other fuel combustion by 36 percent. Particle pollution from waste disposal and recycling (20%) was twice the national average. Other major sources of particle pollution in the region stem from industrial fuel combustion (10%), off-highway vehicles (9%), and highway vehicles (6%). Miscellaneous sources of particle pollution emissions were a mere 3 percent, compared to the national average of 47 percent. Region 1 identified 126,024 short tons of particle pollution in the 1999 inventory; it produced the least particle pollution nationwide.
Trends
Ozone levels have declined significantly in Region 1, more than in the nation as a whole. Region 1 has seen more reductions in ozone levels than all other regions except Region 9. Levels have declined by 21 percent from 1983 to 2002, compared with the national levels, which have dropped by 14 percent in that time frame.15 Furthermore, ozone levels in the region declined the most of any region during the period 1991 to 2000, dropping by 21.9 percent. Comparable trend data are not available for PM2.5 levels.16
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