Emissions
of ammonia (NH3)
AP-7
Air
Pollution
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
total annual amount of ammonia (NH
3)
emissions must be derived for all economic activities, including agriculture,
waste disposal and management and industrial processes. The unit of measurement
is Kt of ammonia per year.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
5: The themes and targets of the programme, section 5.2: Acidification and air
quality.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
9: Protection of the atmosphere.
International
conventions and agreements:
Currently,
there are no conventions or agreements specifically referring to the regulation
and/or limitation of ammonia emissions. However, calls have been made for the
reduction of surface and groundwater pollution from nitrates, primarily due to
the use of N-fertilisers in agriculture.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
7
(23%)
Policy
Relevance:
16
(2.6)
Analytical
Soundness:
10
(2.8)
Responsiveness:
17
(2.3)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Exceedance
of critical levels of ammonia into the atmosphere.
3 Significance
Purpose:
Emissions
of ammonia arise primarily from the use of nitrogen-based fertilisers, manure
management, treatment/disposal of waste and various industrial processes. such
as production of nitrous oxide, production of fertilisers etc. The purpose of
this indicator is to identify the activities mostly responsible for the release
of ammonia into the atmosphere.
Relevance:
Population
growth rates
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
None.
Targets:
The
EU Directive 91/676 on the reduction of pollution of surface and ground water
from nitrates. At EU level, national targets have been set according to the
problems identified.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
atmospheric oxidation of ammonia leads to the formation of ammonium, which
together with sulphates and nitrates are responsible for the occurrence of
acidification-related problems. The total annual amount of ammonia emitted is
primarily related to the usage of manure and the manufacture and usage of
nitrogen-based fertilisers for the enhancement of crops production.
Measurement
methods:
Ammonia
emissions can be estimated by the use of statistical data related to
agricultural activities (e.g. total amount of nitrogen-based fertilisers,
number of animals by category etc.), waste management activities (e.g. total
amount of waste water treated, total amount of waste in landfills etc.) and
industrial processes activities (e.g. production of nitrogen-based fertilises,
production of nitrous oxide etc.) together with appropriate emission factors.
It must be noted that detailed methodologies (such as the CORINAIR program)
already exist for the estimation of NH
3
emissions from all anthropogenic activities.
Limitations
of the indicator:
Specific
emission factors, currently published for the anthropogenic activities
responsible for NH
3
emissions are associated with a high level of uncertainty, which affects the
reliability of the estimates obtained.
Alternative
definitions:
Ammonia
emissions per cultivated area (Kt NH
3/km2);
Ammonia emissions per animal (Kt NH
3/1000
heads).
