Assessment of Selective Reduction Strategies over Northeastern Regions of Ohio Using a Photochemical Grid Model—A Case Study

摘要

This study is primarily focused on Cleveland-Akron-Lorain nonattainment area in northeastern Ohio. The base year 2002 considered in this study witnessed one of the worst cases of ozone pollution in this region with ozone values exceeding previous 8-hour ozone standards of 84 ppb. The photochemical modeling system CAMx was applied to compute relative reduction factors, which were used subsequently to scale the base year (2002) values at the ozone monitoring sites to estimate the ozone design values for the year 2009 in Cleveland area for different emissions reduction scenarios. The results disclose that the largest change in the 2009 ozone design values consequent to applying auxiliary emission control strategies is between 1 and 1.5 ppb, which still left certain counties in northeastern Ohio unable to demonstrate attainment. The results are important in the development of emission control strategies in today’s context with instillation of even more stringent ozone standards and potential future increases in ozone concentrations due to climate change.