Tackling pollution from the emission of nitrogen compounds, particularly ammonia, could reduce many of the 23.3 million years of life that were lost prematurely across the world in 2013 due to nitrogen-related air pollution, an international study has discovered using a modeling framework.

A research team led by scientists from Zhejiang University in China used the IIASA GAINS model, among other tools, to develop a new metric, called the ‘Nitrogen-share’ (N-share), to estimate the contribution of nitrogen compounds to PM2.5 (fine particle) air pollution and the associated health effects.

N-share expresses the contribution of a given compound containing nitrogen to an effect in question.

PM2.5 air pollution is the largest environmental risk factor for human health worldwide. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen compounds such as nitrogen oxides (NO_x), deriving from fossil fuel combustion in power plants, industrial furnaces or boilers, as well as vehicle emissions, and ammonia (NH₃) emissions mainly from agricultural and natural sources are important precursors of PM2.5 formation in the atmosphere.

The study, published in Science, revealed, via a cost-benefit analysis, that ammonia mitigation is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve global air quality and public health.

The research team used three atmospheric chemistry transport models to simulate total PM2.5 concentration with and without nitrogen compound emissions and found that NH₃ emissions have a larger contribution to PM2.5 than NO_x emissions. Using the GAINS model developed by IIASA, the team was able to quantify the potential to reduce emissions, and the financial costs such measures would have.

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