Transboundary Air Pollution in Europe: an Interactive Multicriteria Tradeoff Analysis

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE EXECUTIVE BODY FOR THE CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION Working Group on Effects

EHPnet: Economic Commission for Europe's Environment and Human Settlements Division

Pollution does not respect international borders anywhere, but in Europe, with its heavy industrialization and small nations, this is particularly evident. By the 1970s, it had become apparent that air pollution from other nations was contributing to the acidification of lakes in Sweden and the deterioration of statues and monuments in countries such as Germany and Austria. A 1986 industrial ac...

International Regime Formation Revisited: Explaining Ratification Behavior With Respect to Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution Agreements

Existing research on international regime formation concentrates heavily on explaining bargaining processes and their outcomes, as well as the implementation and effectiveness of international regimes. With very few exceptions, variation in ratification behavior, an important component of international regime formation, has not been studied in detail. We draw on conventional theories of interna...

Health risks of heavy metals from long-range transboundary air pollution

The heavy metals cadmium, lead and mercury are common air pollutants , being emitted mainly as a result of various industrial activities. Although the atmospheric levels are low, they contribute to the deposition and build-up in soils. Heavy metals are persistent in the environment and are subject to bioaccumulation in food-chains. Cadmium exposures are associated with kidney and bone damage. C...

Particulate air pollution and health inequalities: a Europe-wide ecological analysis

BACKGROUND Environmental disparities may underlie the unequal distribution of health across socioeconomic groups. However, this assertion has not been tested across a range of countries: an important knowledge gap for a transboundary health issue such as air pollution. We consider whether populations of low-income European regions were a) exposed to disproportionately high levels of particulate...