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                                       Nitrogen Dioxide

                             (Assgt. 3.1 from Rude, Technical Editing) 
 

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂)

Nitrogen is an elemant essential to all life but nitrogen comppounds are “extras largely produced thorough energy consumption.  Nitrogen oxides effect the nitrogen cycle, and when high temperature oxidation and chemical conversions form nitrogen dioxide, physical effects are possible.  NO2 forms the depressing brown in smog it irritates our eyes and blurs our enviroment.  In animal studies, NO2 has been also shone to be hte most dangerous among the eight nigrogen oxides.  Inhaled, NO2 reacts quickly with lung issue and causes cell injury and cell death.  Biochemical experiments indicate that the region of the lung most reponsible for respiration, the region bounded by the terminal respiratory bronchioles and the alviole, is most affected by inhaled NO2.
Lung injury seems related more to the concentration of NO2 than to the lenhgt of exposure, but even small concentations for less then a hour have caused breatheing difficulties for some people.  Ashmatics may be particularly sensative to very low levels of NO2.  Between 1940 and ‘70, emissions of NO2 in the USA increased nearly three times. 
Even tho we might expect that Los Angeles would regularly experience high concentrations of NO2, the open spaces of the West and Southwest are not exempt form NO2 loaded air.  Especially at busy hours of the day.  Because concentration is more damaging than length of exposure, the measures of NO2 in terms of yearly arithmetic averages disguise the dangerously high concentrations of NO2 at peak traffic hours.  Energy demands coupled with understandable attempts to use natural resources like coal, mean that NO2 emissions from huamn activities will certainly increase.  We need verified emission standards, careful monitoring and continued research on the health affects of NO2.
 

For use with Carolyn Rude, Technical Editing, 2^nd ed. (© Allyn & Bacon, 1998)