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Regional Differences on Sources for Ozone and Particle Pollution
Region 3: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia
Local Sources of VOCs
According to EPA’s emissions inventory, human activity in Region 3 in 1999 put 1.51 million tons of VOCs into the air. Once again, the transportation sector accounted for the single largest contribution to the inventory — 45 percent of the Region’s emissions, 29 percent from highway vehicles, and 16 percent from off-road vehicles. Transportation generates a similar percentage nationally (47%), but Region 3’s off-road vehicle sector is slightly smaller than the national highway vehicle sector (16% v 18%). The other significant source was the use of solvents, comprising 31 percent, nearly a third, of Region 3’s emissions of VOCs, higher than the national percentage of solvent use (27%).
Local Sources of NOx
According to EPA’s emissions inventory, human activity in Region 3 in 1999 put 2.43 million tons of NOx into the air. Fully half (50%) came from highway vehicles and offhighway vehicles. The other significant contributor was fuel combustion, comprising over 44 percent of Region 3’s NOx emissions. Contributions from electricity generation by utilities accounted for nearly two-thirds of this sector and over one-quarter of the whole (28%). Compared with the nation as a whole, Region 3 has a higher percentage from electric utilities (28% v 23% nationally) and a lower percentage from off-highway vehicles (17% v 22% nationally).9
Local sources of Particle Pollution (PM2.5 )
The Mid-Atlantic produced 259,183 short tons of particle pollution in 1999. Other fuel combustion was the largest point source of particle pollution (27%), stemming from residential woodstoves and fireplaces, including other processes burning wood in residential, commercial and institutional settings. Waste disposal and recycling followed closely at 20 percent and miscellaneous sources (13%) of particle pollution followed third, stemming from other combustion, agriculture and forestry. Other sources of particle pollution in the region include off-highway vehicles (8%), highway vehicles (7%), industrial fuel combustion (7%), other industrial processes (6%), fuel combustion from electric utilities (5%), and metals processing (5%). Storage and transport, chemical and allied product manufacturing, petroleum and related industries produced a combined total of 2 percent of particle pollution emissions in the region.
Trends
Monitored ozone levels dropped by 10.8 percent between 1983 and 2002, a trend much lower than the nation as a whole, which dropped 14 percent during the same period. However, during the period 1991-2000, the region’s ozone levels dropped by 11.6 percent, fifth best drop among the regions. Comparable trend data are not available for PM2.5 levels.
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