Reactive Nitrogen Fact Sheet
Waterborne and Airborne Nitrogen
Waterborne nitrogen
When nitrogen oxides react with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight, they form ground level ozone – or smog.
“: http://www.wri.org/project/eutrophication/gallery/images/sources
The runoff of reactive nitrogen into water supplies creates aquatic “dead zones.” These so-called “dead zones” occur because the nitrogen acts as a fertilizer and spurs algae growth. Next, algal blooms deplete oxygen supplies as the algae eventually die, sink, and decompose, starving shrimp and fish of needed oxygen. Chemical fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi River watershed is the chief cause of an 8,500 square-mile “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.[1] Fish, shrimp and other shellfish that are the mainstay for commercial fishing operations along the Gulf cannot survive in the dead zone’s oxygen-deprivedconditions. In addition to causing dead zones, nitrogen runoff poses a threat to human health. Drinking water with elevated nitrate levels may cause cancer.
Airborne nitrogen
Reactive nitrogen is present in the atmosphere in gaseous and particulate form. These compounds can cause a number of environmental problems, including:
- Ground-level ozone – When nitrogen oxides react with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight, they form ground level ozone – or smog. Smog damages lung tissue and reduces lung function, especially among children, people who work or exercise outdoors and those with lung diseases like asthma. In addition, ozone can damage forests and reduces crop yields.
- Acid rain – Nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain. Even ammonia, when deposited to ecosystems, will act as an acidifying agent. Acid rain damages water supplies and fisheries, as well as cars, buildings and other structures.
- Air pollution – Nitrogen oxides react with ammonia, other compounds and moisture in the air to form particles such as ammonium nitrate. When these particles are breathed into the lungs, they affect breathing and respiratory systems, damage lung tissue and cause premature death. Breathing particles can exacerbate respiratory ailments like emphysema and bronchitis and aggravate existing heart disease.
- Climate change – Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Agriculture is responsible for about 80 percent of human-caused N2O. Fertilized fields, livestock operations, wetlands and coastal ecosystems that receive anthropogenic reactive nitrogen all emit nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. Recent studies have shown that corn-ethanol production has aggravated, not lessened, global warming.[2] Other minor human-caused sources of nitrous oxide emissions include vehicle emissions and fossil fuel combustion.