Trends in atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen species in the eastern United States for 1989-1995

Abstract

Emission reductions were mandated in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 with the expectation that they would result in major reductions in the concentrations of atmospherically transported pollutants. This paper investigates the form and magnitude of trends from 1989 to 1995 in atmospheric concentrations of sulfur dioxide, sulfate, and nitrogen at 34 rural sites in the eastern US. Across all sites, there is strong evidence of statistically significant declining trends in sulfur dioxide (median change of -35%) and sulfate concentrations (median change of -26%). In general, trends in nitrogen concentrations were not as pronounced (median change of - 8%) as trends in the sulfur compounds. A regional estimate of trend for a cluster of sites in the Ohio River Valley showed close correspondence between declining sulfur dioxide concentrations (-35%) and changes in sulfur dioxide emissions (-32%) in this region.