A team of scientists are monitoring the path of a polluted air mass from the US as it heads for Europe

Five research aircraft will follow the path of the polluted air mass from the east coast of America, intercepting it at various points to measure the concentration levels of ozone, aerosols and reactive chemicals and quantify any reactions or transformations that may occur.

UK organiser Dr Alastair Lewis from the Intercontinental Transport of Ozone and Precursors programme (ITOP) said: "It's highly likely that air leaving the States contains a cocktail of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, which are emitted from vehicle exhausts and power stations. We want to know how these will react together on the way to Europe and notably whether they form ozone and particles, both of which can be harmful to humans."

Dr Lewis said the investigation will reveal the extent of this 'global pass-the-parcel mechanism' and show whether the elevated ozone levels recorded during the 2003 heatwave were largely caused by pollution from the US:

"Some of the pollution was produced locally in the UK, but we still don't know what the contribution was from other countries. This mission will allow us to understand and quantify the effects of trans-continental transport of chemicals, both on regional and global air pollution."

The possibility that harmful emissions from the US could be causing serious environmental damage in the UK highlights the urgent need for the US to join the Kyoto Protocol (see related story), according to Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary Norman Baker: "It is time for the Prime Minister to lean on his best buddy, George Bush, to get some positive action from the Americans."

Scientists from the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Portugal and the US are involved in ICARTT, which is scheduled to reach completion on 4 August. The project is being led by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

By Jane Kettle

 

 Send to a friend

Their email address

Your email address

Your name

Your Message

Enter number above (anti-spam)

(We will not record your personal details)

 Send to a friend    Printer friendly

 

  Link to this page

Simply copy and paste the HTML below to link to this story

<a href="http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=8599&title=US+pollutants+could+damage+European+environment">US pollutants could damage European environment</a>

   Link to this page    Comment

Share this
               
 

Make a comment?

Your name
Subject

You must log in to post this comment.

Username
Password