The National Academies Press is offering free PDF downloads of some of their recent publications, including one which should be of interest to those who are concerned about air quality and their community’s health: Global Sources of Local Pollution: An Assessment of Long-Range Transport of Key Air Pollutants to and from the United States.

The book looks at four pollutants in detail: ozone, mercury, particulate matter, and persistent organic pollutants, which includes a whole range of pesticides and industrial chemicals like DDT which have been banned in the US but are still in use around the world.

Pollutants from traffic, cooking stoves, and factories emitted half a world away can make the air we inhale today more hazardous for our health. The relative importance of this “imported” pollution is likely to increase, as emissions in developing countries grow, and air quality standards in industrial countries are tightened.

Among the things I learned: only about 10-20% of the mercury deposition in my area is from North American emissions. The rest, presumably, are from Asia and Europe.

The authors recommend helping poor countries out of self-interest: “the United States should work with the international community to develop an integrated system for determining pollution sources and impacts and to design effective response strategies.”

Ultimately, these recommendations are weak. Doing more monitoring and modeling studies may help us to better understand the problem, but they are not likely to improve air quality or human health. The authors stop short of recommending foreign assistance to help developing countries wean themselves from these toxic chemicals.

There is also no mention of international treaties for their controls, like the one that phased out CFCs in the 1990s. I suppose this isn’t surprising coming from a group of scientists; they recommend more monitoring and modeling because it’s what they do best, and avoid the quagmires of policies and regulations. I think there is a compelling argument for us to help developing countries develop alternative energy sources, and reduce their consumption of fossil fuels like coal. Acting in enlightened self-interest, we would enjoy substantial co-benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and better health.

In conclusion, this book is a an excellent summary of the science behind global air pollutants, but I wish that the authors had been more daring in crafting their recommendations.