"Fertilizer Is Fouling The Air in California: Study"

"Due to heavy fertilizer use, California's Central Valley is behind up to 41 percent of the state's emissions of nitrogen oxide — an air pollutant and climate-warming gas".

"A large proportion of California's nitrogen oxide—which can cause harmful ozone and a variety of health impacts—comes from heavy fertilizer use in the state's Central Valley, according to a new study.

University of California, Davis, researchers reported today that as much as 41 percent of smog-causing nitrogen oxide emissions are coming from the state's Central Valley region, which grows more than half of US vegetables, fruits and nuts.

"The effect of large soil NOx emissions on air quality and human health remain unclear, but the magnitude of the flux alone raises concern about its potential impact, particularly in rural California," the authors wrote in the study published today in Science Advances journal. "

Brian Bienkowski reports for Environmental Health News February 1, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"How Fumes From Farms Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It" (Ensia)