Atmospheric Emission Inventory System, The Pan-European CORINAIR Information System
An atmospheric emission inventory is a database of information on emission measurements, emission factors, individual emission sources, activity statistics and emission estimates derived from the above data. Each emission is a number with three attributes, the activity, the location, and the pollutant. Emissions are calculated multiplying the activity rate by the corresponding emission factor. Sources of air pollution are grouped into major sectors, consisting each of them of a number of sub-sectors composed of many activities. Usually, but not always, each activity covers a single aspect of pollution emission. Sources are also divided into point and area sources. Point sources are addressed individually and in some detail Covering aspects such as precise location, plant specification and operation conditions, emission heights, abatement technology installed, energy consumption, throughput etc as well as the results of direct emission measurements or continuous emission monitoring where available. Other sources- usually smaller and/or more numerous and less well quantified- are aggregated into geographical units, either grid squares or administrative units. In the present paper, the evolution of the atmospheric emission inventory system in the European Union is presented. For each inventory, the main source sectors recognized and the pollutants covered are given.