Air emissions of diesel exhaust are more than just another air pollution issue. Diesel exhaust can deposit onto water, soil, and vegetation, contaminating anything it comes into contact with. It contributes to global warming because it contains the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide and fine carbonaceous PM. Diesel exhaust also contributes to acid deposition because it contains nitric and sulfuric acids and other substances which can be transformed to acidic PM in the atmosphere. The NOx portion of diesel emissions also contributes to ozone (O3) formation and eutrophication of coastal waters (spurring algae to bloom to such an extent that the algae blocks sunlight from aquatic life beneath the surface). The contribution of NOx to the formation of ozone is significant in the Houston-Galveston area because it is a non-attainment area for ozone air pollution standards. Ozone in the troposphere (caused by pollution), as opposed to stratospheric ozone (the good ozone) has been known to exacerbate asthmatics and increase hospital admissions on high ozone concentration days.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 07:07:11 +0000
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