UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2008
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UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2008 UK Emissions Inventory Team, AEA: T P Murrells, N R Passant, G Thistlethwaite, A Wagner, Y Li, T Bush, J Norris, C Walker, R A Stewart, I Tsagatakis, R Whiting, C Conolly, S Okamura, M Peirce, S Sneddon, J Webb, J Thomas, J MacCarthy, S Choudrie, N Brophy AEAT/ENV/R/3036 The authors wish to acknowledge contributions to the NAEI from: Tom Misselbrook and Laura Cardenas (North Wyke Research) Ulli Dragosits and Mark Sutton (Centre of Ecology and Hydrology) August 2010 UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2008 August 2010 Title UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2008 Customer Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Customer reference Confidentiality, Crown Copyright copyright and reproduction File reference Report number UK Emissions of Air Pollutants 1970 to 2008 Issue number Issue 1 AEA The Gemini Building Fermi Avenue Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 0QR Email: [email protected] AEA is a business name of AEA Technology plc AEA is certified to ISO9001 and ISO14001 Name Signature Date Main Authors Shoko Okamura 04/08/10 Reviewed by Anne Wagner 04/08/10 Approved by Glen Thistlethwaite 04/08/10 AEA iii Executive Summary 1 This is the annual report of the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (NAEI), which forms part of the UK emissions inventory programme funded by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the devolved administrations. This report is produced by AEA Technology plc, the UK inventory agency for air quality emission inventories, under contract to Defra. 2 UK air pollutants - This report presents the latest estimates of emissions to the atmosphere from the UK for the period 1970 to 2008. Details are provided of the economic sectors that contribute to the emissions, the time trend in emissions and the factors that have affected the trend and the spatial distribution of the emissions. 44 pollutant species are included in the 2008 annual inventory including 10 groups of related pollutant compounds which include non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) perfluorocarbons (PFC) and a number of groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Size fractionation is available for particulate matter, speciation is available for 500 NMVOCs and the oxidation states of Hg, Ni and Cr are given. The pollutants considered in this report are: Air Quality Pollutants Base Cations • particulate matter, (PM 10 )* • calcium, (Ca) • black smoke • magnesium, (Mg) • carbon monoxide, (CO) • sodium, (Na) • benzene, (C 6H6) • potassium, (K) • 1,3-butadiene, (C 4H6) • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, (PAH)* † Greenhouse Gases • nitrogen oxides, (NO x) • carbon dioxide, (CO 2) • sulphur dioxide, (SO 2) • methane, (CH 4) • non-methane volatile organic compounds, (NMVOC)* • nitrous oxide, (N 2O) • ammonia, (NH 3) • hydrofluorocarbons, (HFCs) • hydrogen chloride, (HCl) • perfluorocarbons, (PFCs) • hydrogen fluoride, (HF) • sulphur hexafluoride, (SF 6) Persistent Organic Pollutants Heavy Metals • polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, (PAHs)* † • arsenic, (As) • mercury, (Hg)* • dioxins and furans, (PCDD/Fs) • beryllium, (Be) • nickel, (Ni)* • polychlorinated biphenyls, (PCBs) • cadmium, (Cd) • tin, (Sn) • pesticides: • chromium, (Cr)* • selenium, (Se) - lindane, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), pentachlorophenol, • copper, (Cu) • vanadium, (V) (PCP) • short-chain chlorinated paraffins, (SCCPs) • lead, (Pb) • zinc, (Zn) • polychlorinated napthalenes, (PCNs) • manganese, (Mn) • polybrominated diphenyl ethers, (PBDEs) *Pollutant emissions are given as a total emission and speciated emissions. Particulate matter emissions are given as PM 10 , PM 2.5 , PM 1.0 and PM 0.1. † Benzo[a]pyrene is included in the Air Quality Strategy, but appears in this report in the chapter on Persistent Organic Pollutants, as it is a PAH. AEA iv In the 2008 inventory, there is considerable interest in the four pollutants covered under the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD), as we approach the 2010 target year. The 2008 emissions are below the NECD levels required in 2010 for non-methane volatile organic compounds, sulphur dioxide and ammonia, whilst a further reduction from 2008 emission levels will be required if the UK is to achieve the NECD target for nitrogen oxides. This is considered further in Section 1.2.6 on projections. The change in emissions for these pollutants between 1990 and 2008 is summarised in the following plot expressed as a percentage change from the 1990 values. Emissions of all pollutants have decreased during this period. Overall, emissions of the majority of the pollutants have decreased between 2007 and 2008 due to the unforeseen economic downturn. 3 Particulate Matter (PM) – The UK emissions of PM 10 declined by 53% between 1990 and 2008, giving an emission of 0.13 Mt in 2008. This reflects a trend away from coal use particularly by domestic users. Emissions from residential plants accounted for 14% of UK emissions of PM 10 in 2008, whilst road transport sources contributed a further 18%. PM 10 emissions from road transport have shown a steady AEA v decline across recent years. Other PM size fractions are also included in this report. PM 2.5 emissions have also fallen, but by a slightly smaller amount. The largest source sector of PM 2.5 is road transport, accounting for 24% of the 2008 total emission. 4 Black Smoke - Black smoke emissions in the UK have declined significantly (by some 85% between 1970 and 2008). Emissions in 2008 were estimated to be 168 kt. These estimates are based on old measurement data and are hence very uncertain. The largest source sector of black smoke is road transport, accounting for 42% of the 2008 total emission. 5 Carbon Monoxide (CO) - Emissions in 2008 (2.8 Mt) represent a 69% reduction on the emissions in 1990. UK emissions of CO are dominated by those from road transport (54% of UK emissions in 2008). The change in emissions between 1990 and 2008 is dominated by the reduction in emissions from the road transport sector, caused by the increased use of three-way catalytic converters in cars. 6 Benzene –Emissions have decreased by 48% between 1990 and 2008, giving an emission of 20.1 kt in 2008. Fuel combustion in the residential sector is the most significant source of benzene, accounting for some 41% of UK emissions in 2008. The next most significant source is emissions from petrol fuelled passenger cars (26%). The decline in emissions over time is primarily due to a marked reduction in benzene emissions from road transport as a result of tighter European vehicle emission standards and European Directives on fuel quality being introduced. 7 1,3-Butadiene – Emissions in 2008 were estimated to be 3.1 kt, representing a decrease of 79% between 1990 and 2008. Emissions of 1,3-butadiene are dominated by fuel combustion in the road transport sector, which account for some 67% of the 2008 UK emissions. There have been significant reductions in the emissions from this sector due to the increase in the number of cars equipped with three-way catalytic converters. 8 Nitrogen Oxides (NO x) - UK emissions of NO x were approximately 2.7 Mt in 1990. Emissions have fallen to around 1.4 Mt in 2008, representing a 49% reduction on the 1990 emissions estimate. This is primarily a consequence of abatement measures in road transport and coal fired power stations and the increased use of gas for power generation. Road transport accounts for 32% of total UK NO X emissions in 2008, whilst power stations contribute a further 20%. 9 Sulphur dioxide (SO 2) - UK emissions of sulphur dioxide has fallen from 3.7 Mt in 1990 to 0.5 Mt in 2008, a decrease of 86%. This is a result of reduced emissions from the industrial and public power sectors due to lower use of high sulphur coal and increasing use of abatement equipment. Combustion of fuels in the power station, refining and manufacture of solid fuels sectors accounted for 57% of the 2008 UK SO 2 emissions. 10 Hydrogen Chloride (HCl) - UK emissions of hydrogen chloride have decreased by 96% between 1990 and 2008, giving an emission of 12 kt in 2008. This reduction is largely as a result of declining coal use across the energy sector. 11 Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) – The total hydrogen fluoride emissions for 2008 are estimated to be 3.6 kt, representing a 64% reduction on the 1990 emission estimates. As with hydrogen chloride, the dominant source is coal combustion for public power contributing 53% of emissions in 2008. 12 Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) - UK emissions of NMVOC are estimated as 2.6Mt for 1990 and 0.94 Mt for 2008, thereby showing a decrease of 63%. The observed decrease arises primarily from tighter European vehicle emission standards and fuel quality directives being introduced and the impact of the Solvent AEA vi Emissions Directive. In 2008, solvents use sector accounted for 42% of the overall emissions. 13 Ammonia (NH 3) - Total UK emissions of ammonia were estimated to be 0.28 Mt in 2008, compared to the 1990 estimate of 0.36 Mt, a 23% reduction. The agricultural sector accounted for 88% of ammonia emissions in 2008. There were increases in emissions from the road transport sector between 1990 and 2000, caused by the increased use of three-way catalytic converters. Improvements in these mean that emissions from the road transport sector are now declining. There have been decreases in emissions from the agricultural sector between 1990 and 2008 due to decreased agricultural livestock numbers. 14 Lead (Pb) - UK emissions of lead has declined sharply following the switch from leaded to unleaded and lead replacement petrol. Emissions in 2008 are estimated to be 67 t, a decrease of 98% on the 1990 estimates. Road transport contributed only 2% of total UK emissions in 2008, compared to 74% in 1990. 15 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) – The 2008 UK emissions of persistent organic compounds may be summarised as follows: 1,216 t PAH (USEPA 16), 236g I-TEQ PCDD/F (grams of International toxic equivalent 1 of dioxins & furans) and 1.0 t PCB .