Foreign air pollutants 'can affect air quality, humans and ecosystems'

Air quality may be affected by plumes of damaging air contaminants which can travel across oceans and continents, according to a new study.

President and chief executive officer of Aerodyne Research Charles Kolb said that emissions within any country can affect human and ecosystem health in places far downwind of them.

Mr Kolb is also the chair of the National Research Council, which produced the report and is administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine through the council's governing board.

"Air pollution does not recognise national borders - the atmosphere connects distant regions of our planet," he stated.

He added that although it is difficult to quantify these influences, in some cases the impacts are significant from the perspective of regulatory and public health authorities.

The research, which was sponsored by NASA, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Science Foundation, focused on ozone contaminants, particulate matter, mercury and persistent organic pollutants.

Written by Claire Manning