Pollutants | Origins |
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Ammonia (NH3) | Agricultural activities (volatilization during spreading and storage of livestock effluents, spreading of mineral fertilizers) |
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) (benzene, acetone, perchloroethylene...) | Wood burning, automobile exhaust gases, use of household solvents (paints, glues, etc.)... |
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) | Thermal power plants, residential heating, large industrial facilities, oil refining operations, combustion of fossil fuels (fuel oil, coal, diesel, etc.), volcanic eruptions... |
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) | Incomplete combustion, use of solvents (paints, glues, coatings) and degreasers, cleaning products, filling of car tanks, cisterns, plastic production, pesticides, dyes, cigarette smoke, combustion of organic materials... |
Heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, nickel) | Incineration of household waste, metallurgical activities (mining, steel mills, manufacturing processes...), combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil), road transportation, aviation, gunfire smoke... |
Carbon Monoxide (CO) | Industrial activities, fuel combustion, metallurgy... |
Nitrogen Oxides (Nitric Oxide (NO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)) | Vehicle combustion engines, thermal power plants, residential heating, incineration plants, agriculture (use of nitrogen fertilizers), industrial processes (glassmaking, etc.), volcanoes, lightning, gas stoves... |
Ozone (O3) | Produced in the atmosphere due to the effects of solar radiation, heat, high electrical tension, or electrostatic discharges through complex reactions between certain primary pollutants (NOx, CO, VOCs) |
Particles or suspended dust (PM2.5: particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers; PM10: particles with a diameter less than 10 micrometers) | Industrial or domestic combustion, diesel engines, residential heating, incinerators, sand mists, volcanic eruptions, forest fires... |