An emission factor is a representative value that attempts to relate the quantity of a pollutant released to the atmosphere with an activity associated with the release of that pollutant. These factors are usually expressed as the weight of a pollutant divided by a unit weight, volume, distance, or duration of the activity emitting the pollutant (e. g., kilograms of particulate emitted per megagram of coal burned). Such factors facilitate estimation of emissions from various sources of air pollution. In most cases, these factors are simply averages of all available data of acceptable quality, and are generally assumed to be representative of long-term averages for all facilities in the source category (i. e., a population average).
Please Note: The use of any emission factor on or derived from this web page is at the discretion of the local air district where the factors will be used. Therefore it is highly recommended that before any emission factor is used that the local air district be consulted.
