CAI-Asia Factsheet No.

13 August 2010

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Standards in Asia

itrogen dioxide (NO2) is part of the general set of pollutants of Nitrogen oxides (NOx) along with Nitric

oxide (NO), Nitrous acid (HNO2) and Nitric acid (HNO3). While the all members of the group NOx are considered to be pollutants, NO2 is the component of greatest interest and the indicator for the larger group of nitrogen oxides.

The majority of NOx emissions are in the form of nitrogen oxide (NO), which is subsequently oxidized by O3 in the atmosphere to the secondary pollutant NO2. NO2 is the main source of tropospheric ozone in the presence of hydrocarbons and ultraviolet light, thus playing an important role in determining ambient O3 concentrations. NO2 is also a key precursor of nitrate particles which form an important fraction of the air particulates with diameter of 25microns or less (PM2.5).

World Health Organization (WHO) Ambient Air Quality Guidelines

Unlike the usual 24-hr and annual mean levels, NO2 follows a 1-hr and annual averaging periods based from recommendations of epidemiological and toxicological studies. The existing WHO AQG short-term NO2 guideline value of 200 g/m3 (1-hour) and 40 g/m3 (annual) have both been retained as they have not been contested by more recent epidemiological or exposure studies.
Table 1. WHO Air Quality Guideline (AQG) and Interim Targets: Basis of Selected Level for 1-hr and Annual Mean Level Standard 3 g/m Category 1-hr Annual
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IT-1 IT-2 IT-3 WHO AQG

(g/-m ) 200

40

Recent indoor studies have provided evidence of effects on respiratory symptoms among infants at NO 2 Source: WHO, 2005. concentrations below 40 g/m3.

Higher Spatial Variation of NO2 and the US EPAs Response

Studies have shown that NO2 can have a higher spatial variation than other traffic-related air pollutants like particulate matter. These studies demonstrated that metropolitan areas with higher levels of NO2 had adverse effects on childrens health even though the overall city-wide NO2 level was quite low. As a traffic-related air pollutant, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) is establishing new monitoring requirements for NO2 around major roads with large populations.

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NO2 Standards in Asia
Most developing countries in Asia either use the 24-hr standard and/or the annual standard for NO2. Though some countries have 1-hr guidelines, they are not comparable to the US EPA or even the European Union (EU) Air Quality Standards (AQS) except for very few countries (Table 2 and Figures 1 to 3).
Table 2. Summary of NO2 Standards in Select Asian countries (g/m )
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Countries Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan (Industrial) Bhutan (Mixed) Bhutan (Sensitive) Cambodia China: Grade I China: Grade II China: Grade III Hong Kong SAR 1 Hong Kong SAR 2 India 3 India Indonesia Lao PDR Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Nepal 4 Pakistan 5 Pakistan Philippines Republic of Korea Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand Viet Nam

NO2 1-hr 300 120 240 240 300 200 400 320 85 188 188 250 320 200

NO2 24-hr 120 80 30 100 80 120 120 150 80 80 150 10 40 80 80 80 150 113 100 -

NO2 Annual 100 80 60 15 40 80 80 80 40 40 30 100 30 40 40 40 56 100 40

China: Grade I = applies to specially protected areas, such as natural conservation areas, scenic spots, and historical sites; China: Grade II = applies to residential areas, mixed commercial/residential areas, cultural, industrial, and rural areas; China: Grade III = special industrial areas; SAR = Special Administrative Region; PDR = Peoples Democratic Republic 1 = Proposed air quality objectives for Hong Kong SAR. 2 = NAAQS for Industrial, Residential, Rural and Other Areas 3 = NAAQS for Ecologically Sensitive Areas (notified by Central Government) 4 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 09 5 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 2012 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Conversion factor for ppb to g/m3: 2.616 Source: CAI-Asia Center, 2010. [Collected from various sources]

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Figure 1. 1-hr NO2 Standards in Asian countries vs. US EPA, WHO AQG and EU NAAQS.

Notes for Figure 1. China: Grade I = applies to specially protected areas, such as natural conservation areas, scenic spots, and historical sites; China: Grade II = applies to residential areas, mixed commercial/residential areas, cultural, industrial, and rural areas; China: Grade III = special industrial areas; SAR = Special Administrative Region; PDR = Peoples Democratic Republic; WHO = World Health Organization; IT = interim target; AQG = air quality guidelines; US EPA = United States Environmental Protection Agency; EU = European Union. 1 = Proposed air quality objectives for Hong Kong SAR. 2 = NAAQS for Industrial, Residential, Rural and Other Areas 3 = NAAQS for Ecologically Sensitive Areas (notified by Central Government) 4 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 09 5 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 2012 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Conversion factor for ppb to g/m3: 1.880 Source: CAI-Asia Center, 2010. [Collected from various sources]

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Figure 2. 24-hr NO2 Standards in Asian countries vs. US EPA, WHO AQG and EU NAAQS.

Notes for Figure 2. China: Grade I = applies to specially protected areas, such as natural conservation areas, scenic spots, and historical sites; China: Grade II = applies to residential areas, mixed commercial/residential areas, cultural, industrial, and rural areas; China: Grade III = special industrial areas; SAR = Special Administrative Region; PDR = Peoples Democratic Republic; WHO = World Health Organization; IT = interim target; AQG = air quality guidelines; US EPA = United States Environmental Protection Agency; EU = European Union. 1 = Proposed air quality objectives for Hong Kong SAR. 2 = NAAQS for Industrial, Residential, Rural and Other Areas 3 = NAAQS for Ecologically Sensitive Areas (notified by Central Government) 4 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 09 5 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 2012 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Conversion factor for ppb to g/m3: 1.880 Source: CAI-Asia Center, 2010. [Collected from various sources]

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Figure 3. Annual NO2 Standards in Asian countries vs. WHO AQG and EU NAAQS.

Notes for Figure 3. China: Grade I = applies to specially protected areas, such as natural conservation areas, scenic spots, and historical sites; China: Grade II = applies to residential areas, mixed commercial/residential areas, cultural, industrial, and rural areas; China: Grade III = special industrial areas; SAR = Special Administrative Region; PDR = Peoples Democratic Republic; WHO = World Health Organization; IT = interim target; AQG = air quality guidelines; US EPA = United States Environmental Protection Agency; EU = European Union. 1 = Proposed air quality objectives for Hong Kong SAR. 2 = NAAQS for Industrial, Residential, Rural and Other Areas 3 = NAAQS for Ecologically Sensitive Areas (notified by Central Government) 4 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 09 5 = Draft: Effective from 1st Jan 2012 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Conversion factor for ppb to g/m3: 1.880 Source: CAI-Asia Center, 2010. [Collected from various sources]

References
Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center, 2010. Air Quality in Asia: Status and Trends 2010 US EPA. 2010. Nitrogen dioxide. http://www.epa.gov/air/Nitrogendioxide Schwela, Dieter, Haq, Gary, Huizenga, Cornie, Han, Wha-Jin, Fabian Herbert, Ajero, May, 2006. Urban Air Pollution in Asian Cities. United Kingdom SEI, 2008. Foundation Course on Air Quality Management. http://www.sei.se/cleanair WHO, 2005. WHO Air Quality Guidelines Global Update 2005 Particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen. http://www.euro.who.int/Document/E90038.pdf

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2010 Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center. All rights reserved. CAI-Asia, 2010. Factsheet No. 13 Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Standards in Asia. Pasig City, Philippines.
CAI-Asia Center 3504-3505 Robinsons-Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Pasig City 1605 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 395 2843/Fax +63 2 395 2846, center@cai-asia.org www.cleanairinitiative.org

CAI-Asia Factsheet No. 13 August 2010