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In December 2004, in recognition of an increasing body of scientific evidence suggesting the potential importance of intercontinental flows of air pollutants, the Convention on Longrange Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) created the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF HTAP). Under the leadership of the European Union and the United States, the TF HTAP was charged with improving the understanding of the intercontinental transport of air pollutants across the Northern Hemisphere for consideration by the Convention. Parties to the Convention were encouraged to designate experts to participate, and the task force chairs were encouraged to invite relevant experts to participate from countries outside the Convention.
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Ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM), mercury (Hg), and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are significant environmental problems in many regions of the world. For each of these pollutants, observed concentrations or deposition at any given location can be thought of as composed of several different fractions, one of which is related to the intercontinental atmospheric transport of anthropogenic emissions into the air. Other fractions may be associated with natural emission sources or local and regional anthropogenic sources. Each fraction differs in terms of the emission sources that contribute to it, the temporal and spatial variability of the contribution, and the potential for and sensitivity to emission controls.
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