A worsening trend in photochemical air pollution has recently been recognized in Japan. In the metropolitan area of the Kanto region, photochemical oxidant (O
x) concentrations sometimes reach the photochemical smog caution level (240 ppbv: parts per billion by volume). The number of people who reported health effects from photochemical smog in 2005 was about 1,500, which is the highest in the present decade. The increasing trend in O
x is reported in wide areas of Japan. The present paper discusses some of the factors that may contribute to the worsening trend. Changes in the concentration ratio of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) to oxides of nitrogen (NO
x: NO + NO
2) (NMHC/NO
x) or in NMHC composition may result in increased ozone (O
3) formation. A reduction in NO emission can also increase O
3 levels because of the reduced O
3-NO reaction. The increase in background O
3 levels is also a possible contributor to the Japanese O
3 trend. Because of the reduced level of precursors found in recent Japanese studies of air quality, the effect of these factors is more apparent than in the 1970s. Owing to the advance in analytical technique for trace and short-lived species, such as free radicals and peroxyacyl nitrates, O
3 production-related factors can be observed directly. It is important to take such direct observation-based factors into account in considering air quality control strategies.
抄録全体を表示