Nitrogen Oxides Pollution
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are primary air pollutants which are emitted during the
combustion of fossil fuels; when oxygen and nitrogen react as a result of the high
temperature during combustion reactions, leading to the build-up of ozone near
ground level (Rutherford and Williams, 2015). Over the last five decades, many
urban areas have experienced an increase in Nitrogen oxides levels. This is
concerning due to the fact that NOx are considered one of the most important
precursors of photochemical smog, which is harmful not only for humans, causing
throat and eye irritation, reduction in visibility and attacks on asthmatics, but also for
plants and materials, which are damaged by the chemicals produced by this smog
(Schneider and Grant, 1982).
One of the main reasons why Nitrogen oxides are considered harmful for the
environment is due to the fact that they are involved, along with SO2, in the
formation of acid rain, which is one of the main contributors of deforestation in the
Northern hemisphere (Gomez-Garcia, Pitchon and Kiennemann, 2005). According to
the WHO Ambient Air Pollution database, derived from measurements taken in 1600
cities in 91 countries, “almost nine out of 10 individuals living in urban areas are
affected by air pollution”. Exposure to air pollutants can lead not only to
inflammation, but also changes in lung function. In 2013, Rice et al. using The
Framingham Heart Study found that “short-term exposure to PM2.5, ozone, and NO2
were associated with a lower forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and
forced vital capacity (FVC) in nonsmoking adults”. Moreover, it has been shown that
the exacerbation of asthma, as well as its development, can be due to the high levels
of ozone that lower the air quality (Kurt, Zhang and Pinkerton, 2016).
Two of the most important Nitrogen oxides emission sources are power plants and
on-road motor vehicles, for which a small number is responsible for an increasingly
large fraction of total NOx emissions, as a result of an uneven distribution
(McDonald, Dallmann, Martin and Harley, 2012). Over the last decade, many
countries have adopted policies, generally in the form of tax incentives for the
purchase, to increase the number of electric vehicles in the car fleet. These policies
aim to reduce the pollutant emissions from traffic and to improve the air quality,
especially in urban areas, where not only traffic is the main source of emission, but
also where there is a significant population exposition to these air pollutants (Ferrero,
Alessandrini and Balanzino, 2016). The United Kingdom is an example of a country
where, with the aim of lowering the NOx emissions, the adoption of plug-in electric
vehicles is actively supported by the government through the plug-in car and van
grants schemes and other incentives, leading to the market share of the plug-in
segment going from 0.16% in 2013 to 0.59% in 2014, and achieving 2.6% in 2018.
This investigation will use secondary databases to explore the question: “To what
extent was the adoption of electric vehicles successful in decreasing the NOx
emissions in The United Kingdom?”
Word count: 512 words
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are primary air pollutants which are emitted during the
combustion of fossil fuels; when oxygen and nitrogen react as a result of the high
temperature during combustion reactions, leading to the build-up of ozone near
ground level (Rutherford and Williams, 2015). Over the last five decades, many
urban areas have experienced an increase in Nitrogen oxides levels. This is
concerning due to the fact that NOx are considered one of the most important
precursors of photochemical smog, which is harmful not only for humans, causing
throat and eye irritation, reduction in visibility and attacks on asthmatics, but also for
plants and materials, which are damaged by the chemicals produced by this smog
(Schneider and Grant, 1982).
One of the main reasons why Nitrogen oxides are considered harmful for the
environment is due to the fact that they are involved, along with SO2, in the
formation of acid rain, which is one of the main contributors of deforestation in the
Northern hemisphere (Gomez-Garcia, Pitchon and Kiennemann, 2005). According to
the WHO Ambient Air Pollution database, derived from measurements taken in 1600
cities in 91 countries, “almost nine out of 10 individuals living in urban areas are
affected by air pollution”. Exposure to air pollutants can lead not only to
inflammation, but also changes in lung function. In 2013, Rice et al. using The
Framingham Heart Study found that “short-term exposure to PM2.5, ozone, and NO2
were associated with a lower forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) and
forced vital capacity (FVC) in nonsmoking adults”. Moreover, it has been shown that
the exacerbation of asthma, as well as its development, can be due to the high levels
of ozone that lower the air quality (Kurt, Zhang and Pinkerton, 2016).
Two of the most important Nitrogen oxides emission sources are power plants and
on-road motor vehicles, for which a small number is responsible for an increasingly
large fraction of total NOx emissions, as a result of an uneven distribution
(McDonald, Dallmann, Martin and Harley, 2012). Over the last decade, many
countries have adopted policies, generally in the form of tax incentives for the
purchase, to increase the number of electric vehicles in the car fleet. These policies
aim to reduce the pollutant emissions from traffic and to improve the air quality,
especially in urban areas, where not only traffic is the main source of emission, but
also where there is a significant population exposition to these air pollutants (Ferrero,
Alessandrini and Balanzino, 2016). The United Kingdom is an example of a country
where, with the aim of lowering the NOx emissions, the adoption of plug-in electric
vehicles is actively supported by the government through the plug-in car and van
grants schemes and other incentives, leading to the market share of the plug-in
segment going from 0.16% in 2013 to 0.59% in 2014, and achieving 2.6% in 2018.
This investigation will use secondary databases to explore the question: “To what
extent was the adoption of electric vehicles successful in decreasing the NOx
emissions in The United Kingdom?”
Word count: 512 words
