Ships emit more nitrogen oxides than expected

2004/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ingurumena

All oil tankers, merchant ships and trawlers in the world emit as many nitrogen oxides as the United States. That's what just announced an investigation. Although the existence of spills was already known, it has been estimated that spills are twice as expected.

Two variables are used to measure vessel discharges: the amount of fuel purchased by ships and the average performance of marine equipment. However, it is not a simple calculation as the dispersion of the discharges is continuous. Furthermore, only international shipbuilding was taken into account to date, excluding ferries, tugboats and port services.

The local and global effect on the pouring site are very different. Thus, the dumping area is also important, since when produced near the coast, for example, nitrogen oxide can also damage the lands. Although there are still many steps to take in the legislation on these spills, there are some measures underway. For example, in Los Angeles, ships must moderate their arrival speed to reduce their spills.