Collaborative research: US emissions of sulfuryl fluoride, a pesticide and potent greenhouse gas

合作研究：美国硫酰氟（一种杀虫剂和强效温室气体）的排放

• 批准号: 2121641
• 负责人: Scot Miller
• 金额: $ 32.21万
• 依托单位: Johns Hopkins University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-11-01 至 2024-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2121641&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; research; US; emissions; sulfuryl

Sulfuryl fluoride is a pesticide used to exterminate termites and other pests from homes and buildings, agriculture, and international shipping. Globally, atmospheric concentrations of sulfuryl fluoride have been increasing exponentially as it replaces the toxic pesticide methyl bromide. Methyl bromide is being phased out as it depletes the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields life on Earth from harsh ultraviolet light. Although sulfuryl fluoride does not deplete the ozone layer, it is a potent greenhouse gas and can cause negative health impacts at high exposure. There are numerous knowledge gaps regarding the use of sulfuryl fluoride that prevent a full assessment of its environmental impact. The goal of this project is to address these knowledge gaps by modeling emissions, fate, and transport of sulfuryl fluoride. This will be achieved through specific research to measure sulfuryl fluoride concentrations in ambient air, evaluate how use and emissions are changing over time, and estimate the fraction of emissions that are absorbed during fumigation. Successful completion of this research will provide key information for assessing the environmental impact of sulfuryl fluoride to better inform federal and state regulatory agencies. These findings will also facilitate greenhouse gas emissions accounting for sulfuryl fluoride, which currently do not include this compound in official estimates. Additional benefits to society will result from mentoring high school research interns each summer from Baltimore Public Schools, increasing scientific literacy and enhancing the Nation’s STEM workforce.Sulfuryl fluoride is a toxic pesticide and potent greenhouse gas; it is a common fumigant used to exterminate termites and pests that infest residential structures and agricultural products. In spite of the exponential increase in usage as a replacement for methyl bromide, there are major gaps in understanding the environmental fate of sulfuryl fluoride. The goal of this research project is to address these gaps by evaluating US emissions of sulfuryl fluoride and place these emissions in a global context. This goal will be achieved through two primary research objectives to: i) estimate the magnitude and distribution of sulfuryl fluoride emissions across the United States using atmospheric observations of the gas coupled with inverse modeling, and ii) evaluate recent trends in US emissions in the context of global emissions increases. This research is designed to test three hypotheses that H1) California accounts for a larger share of US sulfuryl fluoride emissions than any other region of the country, H2) increasing US emissions account for the majority of global emissions increases, and H3) at least some of the sulfuryl fluoride used for fumigation is absorbed into structures or agricultural products. Successful completion of this project will provide critical information necessary to characterize the human and ecological health impacts of sulfuryl fluoride use by scientists, regulators, public health professionals, and other stakeholders. Preliminary analysis by the research team indicates that increased sulfuryl fluoride use in the state of California may completely negate recent progress toward meeting emission reduction goals in the state.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

硫酰氟是一种杀虫剂，用于消灭家庭和建筑物，农业和国际航运中的白蚁和其他害虫。在全球范围内，随着硫酰氟取代有毒农药甲基溴，其在大气中的浓度呈指数级增长。甲基溴正在逐步淘汰，因为它消耗平流层臭氧层，而平流层臭氧层保护地球上的生命免受强烈的紫外线照射。虽然硫酰氟不会消耗臭氧层，但它是一种强有力的温室气体，在高暴露时会对健康造成负面影响。在硫酰氟的使用方面存在着许多知识空白，妨碍了对其环境影响的全面评估。该项目的目标是通过模拟硫酰氟的排放、归宿和运输来解决这些知识空白。这将通过具体的研究来实现，以测量环境空气中的硫酰氟浓度，评估使用和排放如何随时间变化，并估计熏蒸过程中吸收的排放比例。这项研究的成功完成将为评估硫酰氟的环境影响提供关键信息，以更好地为联邦和州监管机构提供信息。这些发现还将有助于计算硫酰氟的温室气体排放量，目前官方估计数中不包括这种化合物。每年夏天，指导来自巴尔的摩公立学校的高中研究实习生，提高科学素养，增强国家的STEM劳动力，这将给社会带来额外的好处。硫酰氟是一种有毒农药和强效温室气体;它是一种常见的熏蒸剂，用于消灭白蚁和害虫，这些害虫在住宅结构和农产品中滋生。尽管作为甲基溴替代品的使用呈指数增长，但在了解硫酰氟的环境归宿方面存在重大差距。该研究项目的目标是通过评估美国硫酰氟的排放量来解决这些差距，并将这些排放量置于全球范围内。 这一目标将通过两个主要的研究目标来实现：一）使用大气观测结合逆模型来估计整个美国硫酰氟排放量的大小和分布，以及二）在全球排放量增加的背景下评估美国排放量的最新趋势。本研究旨在检验三个假设，即H1）加州占美国硫酰氟排放量的比例大于该国任何其他地区，H2）美国排放量的增加占全球排放量增加的大部分，H3）至少有一些用于熏蒸的硫酰氟被吸收到结构或农产品中。该项目的成功完成将为科学家、监管机构、公共卫生专业人员和其他利益攸关方提供描述硫酰氟使用对人类和生态健康影响所需的关键信息。研究小组的初步分析表明，加州州硫酰氟使用量的增加可能会完全否定该州最近在实现减排目标方面取得的进展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。