Environmental impact of shipping engines can be higher on a port-specific basis. Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) is a standard for defining diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur contents. As of 2006, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in Europe and North America is of a ULSD type. In 2016 the IMO has made new sulfur regulations which must be implemented by larger ships by 2020. Of total global air emissions, shipping accounts for 18 to 30 percent of the nitrogen oxide and 9 percent of the sulphur oxides. Sulfur in the air creates acid rain which damages crops and buildings. When inhaled,
Nitrogen dioxide poisoning Nitrogen dioxide poisoning Nitrogen dioxide poisoning is the illness resulting from the toxic effect of nitrogen dioxide (). It usually occurs after the inhalation of the gas beyond the threshold limit value. Nitrogen dioxide is reddish-brown with very harsh smell at high concentrations. It is colorless and odorless at lower concentration but still harmful. Nitrogen dioxide poisoning depends on the duration, frequency, and intensity of exposure. Nitrogen dioxide is an irritant of the mucous membrane linked with another air pollutant that causes pulmonary diseases such as OLD, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sometimes acute exacerbation of COPD and in