Anthropogenic emissions of ammonia cause a host of environmental impacts, including loss of biodiversity, soil acidification and formation of particulate matter in the atmosphere. Under the auspices of the UNECE Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, around 80 international experts met to review the state of scientific knowledge. This book reports their analysis. It concludes that threshold levels for ammonia effects have been underestimated and sets new values, it assesses the independent evidence to verify reported reductions in regional ammonia emissions, and it reviews the uncertainties in modelling ammonia, both in "hot spots" and at the regional scale.

CHAP 1 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. CHAP 2 CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS: TRANSFORMATIONS AND TRANSPORT MECHANISMS. CHAP 3 MEASUREMENT AND MONITORING. CHAP 4 SOURCES, CONCENTRATIONS, AND SINKS OF ATMOSPHERIC AMMONIA. CHAP 5 TRANSPORTATION. CHAP 6 TOXICOLOGY. CHAP 7 HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS. CHAP 8 EFFECTS ON MATERIALS.

Characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health effects info. for ammonia, a colorless gas with a sharp odor that is made both by humans and by nature. Ammonia is a source of nitrogen for plants and animals. 80% of all manufactured ammonia is used as fertilizer. This profile includes: (1) The examination of available toxicologic info. and epidemiologic evaluations on ammonia to ascertain the levels of human exposure for the substance; (2) A determination of whether adequate info. on the health effects of ammonia is available to determine levels of exposure that present a risk to human health; and (C) Identification of toxicologic testing needed to identify the levels of exposure that may present risk of adverse health effects in humans. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication.

This volume contains the invited papers and a transcript of the final panel discussion in the First Scientific Conference of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (lGAC) Project, held in Eilat, Israel from April 18-22, 1993. The conference was hosted by the Israeli Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) and was the 37th in the prestigious OHOLO Conference series in Israel. The conference was devoted to the subject of "Global Atmospheric-Biospheric Chemistry" and was a landmark event in this area. It provided the first comprehensive report of progress under IGAC toward improving our understanding of the chemical and biological processes that determine the changing composition of the earth's atmosphere. This work is an essential component of the comprehensive International Geosphere Biosphere Program (lGBP) devoted to measuring and understanding global changes in the past and present, and predicting the future evolution of our planet. I want to devote this brief foreword to thanking several people who worked especially hard to make the conference a success and who helped to produce this volume as a record of the event. Paul Crutzen, Amram Golombek, Pamela Matson and Henning Rodhe did sterling service on the conference organizing committee. Special thanks go to Amram Golombek and Dr. Cohen, the Director of IIBR, who hosted the event in Israel. Anne Slinn did an excellent job in producing the Abstract book and helping with administrative matters. Alex Pszenny helped capably to critically review the Abstracts.