New York State

eNergY reSearch aNd

developmeNt authoritY
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public benefit 

corporation created in 1975 by the New York State Legislature. 

NYSERDA derives its revenues from an annual assessment levied against sales by New York’s electric 

and gas utilities, from public benefit charges paid by New York rate payers, from voluntary annual 

contributions by the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Power Authority, and from limited

corporate funds. 

NYSERDA works with businesses, schools, and municipalities to identify existing technologies and 

equipment to reduce their energy costs. Its responsibilities include:

• Conducting a multifaceted energy and environmental research and development program to meet 

New York State’s diverse economic needs.

• The New York Energy $martSM program provides energy efficiency services, including those 

directed at the low-income sector, research and development, and environmental protection activities.

• Making energy more affordable for residential and low-income households.

• Helping industries, schools, hospitals, municipalities, not-for-profits, and the residential sector, 

implement energy-efficiency measures. NYSERDA research projects help the State’s businesses 

and municipalities with their energy and environmental problems.

• Providing objective, credible, and useful energy analysis and planning to guide decisions made by 

major energy stakeholders in the private and public sectors. 

• Since 1990, NYSERDA has developed and brought into use successful innovative, energy-efficient, 

and environmentally beneficial products, processes, and services.

• Managing the Western New York Nuclear Service Center at West Valley, including: overseeing 

the State’s interests and share of costs at the West Valley Demonstration Project, a federal/State 

radioactive waste clean-up effort, and managing wastes and maintaining facilities at the shut-down 

• State-Licensed Disposal Area.

• Coordinating the State’s activities on energy emergencies and nuclear regulatory matters, and 

monitoring low-level radioactive waste generation and management in the State.

• Financing energy-related projects, reducing costs for ratepayers.

For more information, contact the Communications unit, NYSERDA, 17 Columbia Circle, Albany, 

New York 12203-6399; toll-free 1-866-NYSERDA, locally (518) 862-1090, ext. 3250; or on the web 

at www.nyserda.org

State of New York eNergY reSearch aNd developmeNt authoritY

David A. Paterson, Governor Vincent A. DeIorio, Esq., Chairman 

Francis J. Murray, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer

ii

NOTICE

This report was prepared by NESCAUM in the course of performing work contracted for and sponsored by 

the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (hereafter “NYSERDA”). The opinions 

expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of NYSERDA or the State of New York, and

reference to any specific product, service, process, or method does not constitute an implied or expressed 

recommendation or endorsement of it. Further, NYSERDA, the State of New York, and the contractor 

make no warranties or representations, expressed or implied, as to the fitness for particular purpose or 

merchantability of any product, apparatus, or service, or the usefulness, completeness, or accuracy of any 

processes, methods, or other information contained, described, disclosed, or referred to in this report. 

NYSERDA, the State of New York, and the contractor make no representation that the use of any product, 

apparatus, process, method, or other information will not infringe privately owned rights and will assume 

no liability for any loss, injury, or damage resulting from, or occurring in connection with, the use of 

information contained, described, disclosed, or referred to in this report.
iii

ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

Trace elements, including mercury, lead and arsenic, pose significant public health risk due to inhalation 

toxicity or carcinogenicity of certain compounds containing these elements. Recent studies of crude oil in 

North American markets have shown mercury levels to be substantially lower than those used in emission 

factors for distillate and residual oils. While mercury emissions may be lower than previously estimated, 

nickel and vanadium from oil combustion are rising in concern. Recent research is suggesting an 

association between nickel and vanadium concentrations in fine particulate matter and average daily

mortality risk.

This work was undertaken to determine whether or not available emission factors for oil are appropriate for 

use to develop trace elemental emissions inventories in New York State. The substantial market for both 

oils in the Northeast, particularly in the New York City area, supports a measurement campaign to better 

understand the emissions potential for mercury and other trace elements that may be of concern. Trace 

elemental profiles from in-use oils could also prove useful to scientists performing source apportionment 

analysis of fine particulates (PM2.5).

Working with major oil distributors in the New York market, samples of various oil grades were collected, 

including home heating oil, biodiesel, onroad diesel, and residual oil. Samples were analyzed for sulfur 

content and trace elements. The elemental analysis (vanadium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc, arsenic, 

antimony, selenium, lead, mercury) employed a standard instrumental technique capable of detecting trace 

elements down to a few parts per billion in a sample. Even so, a number of samples contained mercury 

below the detection limits of the instrument, so a subset of samples were analyzed for mercury using a 

more sensitive technique. In general, the trace elemental composition of light distillates appears to be 

somewhat lower than standard emission factors given in compilations by the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency. As expected, the trace elemental composition of residual oil far exceeds that of lighter distillates. 

These current elemental measurements can be used along with existing fuel use in New York State to better 

understand the relative importance of different sources of trace elements in the overall emissions inventory.

Keywords: heating oil, distillate oil, residual oil, biodiesel, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, mercury, nickel, 

vanadium, sulfur, trace elements, metals, emission inventory
iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

For their many contributions in developing the scope of this project, NESCAUM thanks Ray Albrecht, P.E. 

(NYSERDA-retired), Ned Bulmer (Irving Oil), Bernie Kelly (Global Companies, LLC), and Steven Levy 

(Sprague Energy Corp.). We particularly thank the fuel oil distributors Global Companies LLC, Irving Oil, 

and Sprague Energy Corp. for providing support and fuel oil samples for elemental analysis. NESCAUM 

also thanks the New England Fuel Institute and the National Oilheat Research Alliance for helpful 

comments and advice in developing the project design.
v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................................... ix

Fuel Oil Consumption and the Public Health Context.............................................................................. ix

Sulfur.................................................................................................................................................... ix

Mercury in Oil....................................................................................................................................... x

Other Trace Metals in Oil .................................................................................................................... xi

Summary of Fuel Oil Sampling Results ................................................................................................... xi

Mercury ................................................................................................................................................... xii

Sulfur...................................................................................................................................................... xiii

Implications and Future Directions...........................................................................................................xv

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... xvii

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1-1

Purpose of Assessment ........................................................................................................................... 1-1

Background on Mercury......................................................................................................................... 1-1

Background on Trace Elements and Other HAPs................................................................................... 1-4

Residential Fuel Use in New York State and the Northeast ................................................................... 1-7

Mercury and Trace Elements in Crude Oil........................................................................................... 1-13

Mercury............................................................................................................................................ 1-13

Trace Elements................................................................................................................................. 1-15

Mercury and Trace Elements in Refined Petroleum Products.............................................................. 1-16

Mercury............................................................................................................................................ 1-16

Trace Elements................................................................................................................................. 1-17

Mercury and Trace Elements in Natural Gas........................................................................................ 1-18

Mercury............................................................................................................................................ 1-18

Other Hazardous Trace Elements..................................................................................................... 1-19

Mercury and Trace Elements in Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)............................................................. 1-20

Current Emission Factors for Mercury and Trace Elements................................................................. 1-20

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 1-22

SECTION 2 ................................................................................................................................................ 2-1

Fuel Oil Analytical Methods .................................................................................................................. 2-1

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) Analytical Methods for 

 Mercury and Other Trace Elements................................................................................................ 2-1

Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Analytical Method for Mercury...................................................... 2-3

X-ray Fluorescence Analytical Methods for Sulfur ........................................................................... 2-3

Fuel Oil Sampling................................................................................................................................... 2-4

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 2-6
vi

SECTION 3 ................................................................................................................................................ 3-1

Results for Trace Element Content in Distillates and Residual Oil........................................................ 3-1

Sample Reproducibility...................................................................................................................... 3-1

Assessment of Trace Element Relationships with Sulfur Content..................................................... 3-1

DETERMINATION OF EMISSION FACTORS .................................................................................. 3-2

Trace Element Concentrations by Fuel Type ..................................................................................... 3-2

Comparison of Emission Factors....................................................................................................... 3-4

Revision of 2002 New York State Mercury Emissions Inventory.......................................................... 3-7

Estimated Reductions in New York State Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Based on 

 Ultra-Low-Sulfur-Fuel......................................................................................................................... 3-9

Comparison with Speciate Emission Profiles....................................................................................... 3-10

Summary............................................................................................................................................... 3-11

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 3-12
vii

FIGURES

Figure ES-1. General Source Category Contributions to the 2002 New York State Anthropogenic 

Mercury Emissions Inventory ............................................................................................................ xiii

Figure ES-2. General Source Category Contributions to the 2005 New York State Sulfur Dioxide 

Emissions Inventory and Low Sulfur Potential ....................................................................................xv

Figure 1-1. Residential Distillate Fuel Oil Sales in 2008 in the Northeast. ................................................. 1-8

Figure 1-2. Shares of Household Heating Fuels in the Upper Northeast States in 2000. ............................ 1-9

Figure 1-3. Annual Residential Fuel Oil Sales in New York State, 1984-2008. ....................................... 1-10

Figure 1-4. Annual Residential Natural Gas Consumption in New York State, 1984-2008. .................... 1-11

Figure 1-5. Monthly New York Distillate Oil Retail Deliveries................................................................ 1-12

Figure 1-6. Estimated 2008 Residential Distillate Fuel Oil Consumption by New York State County 

(Thousand Gallons).......................................................................................................................... 1-13

Figure 3-1. Trace Element Concentration versus Sulfur Content in Fuel Samples. .................................... 3-2

Figure 3-2. Comparison of Measured Elemental Concentrations and Concentrations from AP-42 

Emission Factors: Distillate Oil. ........................................................................................................ 3-6

Figure 3-3. Comparison of Measured Trace Element Concentrations and Concentrations from AP-42 

Emission Factors: Residual Oil.......................................................................................................... 3-7

Figure 3-4. General Source Category Contributions to the 2002 New York State Anthropogenic 

Mercury Emissions Inventory. ........................................................................................................... 3-8

Figure 3-5. General Source Category Contributions to the 2005 New York State Sulfur Dioxide 

Emissions Inventory........................................................................................................................... 3-9
viii

TABLES

Table ES-1. Comparison of Emission Factors (EF) and Concentrations of Trace Elements for 

Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils......................................................................................................... xii

Table ES-2. Sulfur (S) Content in Fuel Oil Samples................................................................................... xiv

Table 1-1. 2008 Distillate and Residual Fuel Oil Sales in New York State Based on End Use ................ 1-11

Table 1-2. Total Mercury in Crude Oil of Different Origins..................................................................... 1-15

Table 1-3. Trace Elements in Crude Oil.................................................................................................... 1-16

Table 1-4. Mercury in Refined Petroleum Products. ................................................................................. 1-17

Table 1-5. Trace Elements in Refined Petroleum Products....................................................................... 1-18

Table 1-6. Total Mercury in Natural Gas and Gas Condensate ................................................................. 1-19

Table 1-7. Reported Mercury Emission Factors for Distillate and Residual Oils...................................... 1-21

Table 1-8. Emission Factors of Trace Elements for Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils and 

Natural Gas. ..................................................................................................................................... 1-21

Table 2-1. ICP-MS Minimum Detection Limits for Trace Elements in No. 2 

Heating Oil and Diesels ..................................................................................................................... 2-2

Table 2-2. ICP-MS Minimum Detection Limits for Trace Elements in No. 6 Fuel Oil .............................. 2-3

Table 2-3. Sampling Locations for No. 2 Home Heating Oil...................................................................... 2-4

Table 2-4. Sampling Locations for No. 6 Fuel Oil and Diesel .................................................................... 2-5

Table 3-1. Sulfur and Trace Element Analysis Comparison for 35 Distillate/Diesel 

Duplicate Samples.............................................................................................................................. 3-1

Table 3-2. Analytical Results of Trace Elements by ICP-MS ..................................................................... 3-3

Table 3-3. Analytical Results of Trace Elements by ICP-MS and Hg by CVAA ....................................... 3-4

Table 3-4. Emission Factors of Trace Elements for Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils................................ 3-5

Table 3-5. Trace Element Emissions Estimates from Distillate and Residual Oil Combustion in 

New York State, 2001...................................................................................................................... 3-10

Table 3-6. Comparison of Emission Factors (EF) and Concentrations of Trace Elements for 

Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils...................................................................................................... 3-11
ix

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Policy-makers rely on air emission inventories as a primary tool for air quality management. The quality of 

their decisions, however, is a direct reflection of the quality of the underlying inventories. Therefore, 

maintaining high-quality emissions inventories represents a major priority for informed decision making. 

Research results presented in this report provide up-to-date trace elemental composition of fuel oils 

currently used in New York State as well as the northeastern United States. This information improves the

understanding of the relative importance of oil combustion in regional emissions inventories for the 

analyzed elements, which are mercury, lead, arsenic, nickel, vanadium, cobalt, manganese, zinc, antimony, 

and selenium, along with fuel oil sulfur content. 

Fuel Oil Consumption and the Public Health Context

About 6.4 million households in the northeastern United States rely on home heating oil for heating needs, 

representing about 80% of the total U.S. households dependent upon home heating oil as their primary 

heating fuel, which is much higher than the 2005 national average of 7% (EIA 2010a). According to the 

Energy Information Administration (EIA), 82% of all residential fuel oil sales in 2008 occurred in the 

Northeast,1

The top consuming state for home heating oil in the United States is New York State (23.5% of the sales), 

followed by its neighboring states Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey (EIA 2009). 

In 2008, New York consumers bought a little over one billion gallons of home heating oil (No. 2 distillate 

fuel oil), or over one-fifth of all home heating oil sold for residential use in the entire United States (EIA 

2009). 

comprising about 3.8 billion gallons of heating oil sold to residential consumers (EIA 2010b). 

Note that this does not include heating oil sales to apartment and other large multi-family buildings; the 

EIA attributes heating oil sales to these residential buildings under the commercial rather than residential 

sector.

Sulfur

Sulfate formed in the atmosphere from sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions when heating oil and other fossil 

fuels are burned is an important contributor to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5 – particulate matter 

with a diameter less than 2.5 microns). These small particles can penetrate deeply into the lungs, thus 

potentially serving as a vector for delivering toxic metals and other hazardous air pollutants into the body. 

Adverse health impacts due to PM2.5 inhalation range from minor irritation to chronic disease, to even 

death. 

 

1 For purposes of this comparison, the Northeast region includes the District of Columbia and the states of Connecticut, 

Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and 

Vermont.
x

The overall mass of PM2.5 in New York, New Jersey, and the New England states is typically comprised of

at least 40% sulfate, but sulfate can make up to two-thirds of the total mass on the highest PM2.5 days 

(NESCAUM 2006). Due to the linear relationship between the sulfur content of fuel oil and SO2 emissions, 

lowering the sulfur content of fuel oil can have significant impacts on SO2 emissions and PM2.5 formation. 

Mercury in Oil

Deserving special mention is mercury emitted from fuel oil combustion. Once in the atmosphere, mercury 

can be deposited locally or transported over long distances before falling back to the surface. When 

released into the environment and deposited or carried into water bodies, mercury can be converted to 

methylmercury, a particularly toxic form of mercury. Methylated mercury in the aquatic food chain 

bioaccumulates in fish tissue to concentrations markedly higher than in the surrounding water.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin in humans that is particularly damaging to the fetus and young child. A 

major route of exposure to mercury is through the eating of fish. Women of child bearing age are of special 

concern as methylmercury ingested by a mother can transport across the placenta into the brain of a 

developing fetus. In young children and fetuses, methylmercury inhibits the normal development of the 

nervous system, an effect that may occur even at low exposure levels. This damage frequently is not 

apparent until later in the developmental process, when motor and verbal skills are found to be delayed or 

abnormal. Developmental effects have been found in children exposed in utero, even though their mothers 

did not experience any symptoms of adult toxicity (USEPA 1997). Women in the Northeast have the 

highest mercury exposure in the U.S., with 19% exceeding blood organic mercury level considered safe for 

fetuses (Mahaffey et al. 2009).

Most of the mercury present in water bodies − and the fish within them − in New York State and the 

Northeast is deposited from the atmosphere (NESCAUM 2008). Atmospheric emissions of mercury come 

mainly from combustion sources including electric utility, industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers 

and municipal waste and sewage sludge incinerators. The mercury in combusted fossil fuels originates 

primarily from petroleum and coal. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Mercury Study 

Report to Congress (USEPA 1997) determined that the coal combustion in utility boilers constituted the 

largest source category for atmospheric mercury and also indicated there were, at the time, insufficient data 

and information available to estimate the amount of mercury emissions that result from the combustion of 

liquid fossil fuels, such as home heating oil and diesel. 

To address mercury in the environment and its threat to human health, New York State and surrounding 

states have established a regional Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for mercury under the federal Clean 

Water Act. The regional mercury TMDL was set at a level that would decrease mercury levels in fish tissue 

low enough for states to lift their fish consumption advisories. To achieve the regional TMDL, it is 

projected that atmospheric deposition must be reduced up to 98% from 1998 levels (NEIWPCC 2007). This 
xi

demonstrates a specific need to identify the major mercury air emission sources contributing to deposition 

in New York State and the surrounding region so that public health and air quality planners can efficiently 

expend limited resources to target the highest priority source sectors.

Inventory analysis identified residential fuel oil combustion as an important contributor to the mercury 

emissions in the region (NESCAUM 2005). When added to estimated mercury emissions from oil used to 

fire boilers in the commercial, industrial, institutional, and electrical generating sectors, emissions derived 

from oil combustion comprised nearly one-fourth of the regional inventory total.

These estimates were based on emission factors from the USEPA AP-42 database (USEPA 1998). 

Emerging research on the mercury content of crude oil suggests much lower emissions from petroleum 

fuels. This indicates a need to update the mercury emission factors for fuel oils in New York State and the 

Northeast to provide a firmer basis for informed decision making. The work presented in this report seeks 

to address this information need.

Other Trace Metals in Oil

The sampling and analysis done to improve the level of knowledge for mercury in New York State’s fuel 

oils also provides an opportunity to improve understanding of other important trace metals in fuel oils.

Combustion of heating oil by necessity is co-located with residential areas. Human exposure to toxic metals 

emitted during oil combustion will be relatively greater in areas where large amounts of heating oil are 

burned, such as in New York State and other areas of the Northeast. The uncertainty in emissions of toxic 

metals from oil combustion, however, can hinder assessments of public exposure to these air pollutants. 

As an example, New York University researchers have implicated nickel and vanadium emissions from oil 

combustion with an increased risk in daily mortality (Lippmann et al. 2006). In the U.S., No. 6 residual oil

combustion is the largest source of these emissions, with No. 2 distillate fuel oil having less of an impact.

Improved knowledge on fuel content of these and other trace elements helps address and anticipate 

information needs as the health science of metals from petroleum combustion evolves.

A further area investigated in this work is the potential relationship trace elements may have with differing 

fuel sulfur contents (e.g., ultra-low-sulfur diesel, biodiesel, No. 6 residual oil). Specifically, as regulatory 

requirements are implemented to require increasingly lower sulfur levels in petroleum fuels, we seek to 

answer whether mercury and other trace elements may predictably change (increase or decrease) in 

response to changes in the refining process to remove sulfur.

Summary of Fuel Oil Sampling Results

Working with major oil distributors in the New York State market, samples of various oil grades were

collected, including home heating oil, biodiesel, onroad diesel, and residual oil. Samples were analyzed for 
xii

sulfur content and the trace elements mercury (Hg), vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel 

(Ni), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and lead (Pb).

A total of 137 fuel samples were collected and analyzed from fuel oil terminals in Albany, the Bronx, and 

Long Island, NY; and Revere and Quincy, MA, along with another 36 duplicate samples that were taken 

from the same storage tank, but collected, shipped, and analyzed separately. The results for distillates 

(home heating oil and diesels) and heavier residual oil (typically used in electric generating units and large 

industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers) are displayed in Table ES-1. Also included for 

comparative purposes are the emission factors and derived fuel oil concentrations of mercury and other 

trace elements based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) “AP-42” emission factors, 

which are the emission factors compiled by the USEPA and widely used for emissions inventory estimates.

In general, the trace elemental composition of light distillates appears to be 5-to-69 times lower than 

estimates based on the USEPA’s AP-42 emission factors. The trace elemental composition of residual oil 

typically far exceeds that of lighter distillates. These current elemental measurements can be used along 

with existing fuel use to better understand the relative importance of different sources of trace elements in 

the overall emissions inventory.

Table ES-1. Comparison of Emission Factors (EF) and Concentrations of Trace Elements for 

Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils

Note: The blank entries indicate where samples had no detectable levels above the minimum detection limit. 

Mercury

The mercury levels found in this study are substantially below those in previous inventory estimates in New 

York State. A comparison of emission factors and concentrations from this study and the USEPA AP-42 

factors for #2 and #6 fuel oils are given in Table ES-1. Based on this study’s findings, the mercury

emissions estimates for these source categories in New York State could be overestimated by a factor of 30

for #2 distillate oil (e.g., home heating oil) and by a factor of seven for #6 residual oil. 

EF Conc. EF Conc. EF Conc. EF Conc.

lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb

V n/a n/a 23.4 2,967 31.8 4,025

Mn 0.83 120 22.5 2851 3 380

Co n/a n/a 8.79 1113 6.02 762

Ni 0.0224 3.2 0.42 60 134 16,988 84.5 10,696

Zn 0.104 14.8 0.56 80 15.5 1,963 29.1 3,684

As 0.0147 2.1 0.56 80 1.36 172 1.32 167

Se 0.0303 4.3 2.08 295 0.945 119 0.683 86

Sb n/a n/a 70.1 8,873 5.25 665

Hg 0.014 2.0 0.42 60 0.016 2 0.113 14

Pb 1.25 179 1.49 188 1.51 191

#2 Distillate Oil #6 Residual Oil

Trace AP-42

Element

NESCAUM AP-42 NESCAUM
xiii

In order to illustrate the impact that the results from this work have on emissions inventory data, we 

revisited the 2002 mercury inventory for New York State. NESCAUM previously updated a baseline 1996 

anthropogenic mercury emissions inventory for the State of New York to the year 2002 (NESCAUM 

2005). In the 2002 inventory, the USEPA AP-42 emission factors were employed to estimate the emissions 

from the oil combustion source categories, including industrial/commercial/institutional (ICI) oil-fired 

boilers, electric utility oil-fired boilers, and residential heating from distillate heating oil. Figure ES-1 

presents the previous and revised 2002 New York State mercury emissions contributions by sector that

reflects the change in fuel oil mercury emissions obtained from the fuel oil sampling results.

Figure ES-1. General Source Category Contributions to the 2002 New York State Anthropogenic 

Mercury Emissions Inventory.

When adjusting the 2002 New York State inventory estimates using the emission factors determined in this 

work, the contributions of residential heating and ICI boilers to the overall state-wide mercury emissions 

drop from 15% and 7%, respectively, to only 1%. These adjustments make the contributions from the other 

source categories relatively more significant; for example, the emissions from sewage sludge incineration 

after revision represent 20% of the entire inventory rather than 15% in the original inventory. Municipal 

waste combustors continue to contribute the largest share of mercury air emissions in New York State, 

increasing from 27% to 34% of total state-wide emissions when the fuel oil combustion contributions are 

adjusted to reflect the observed lower mercury content in fuel oil. Note that although the emission estimate 

of oil-fired electric utility boilers was adjusted, the majority of mercury emissions from electric utility 

boilers in New York State are from coal-fired boilers, so the total contribution from all electric utility 

boilers actually becomes relatively more significant after the revisions. 

Sulfur

In this study, testing results found average concentrations of sulfur from the set of obtained home heating 

oil samples to be 2000 parts per million (ppm) and residual oil 50% greater (Table ES-2). Ultra-low-sulfur 

Municipal Waste 

Combustors

27%

Sewage Sludge 

Incinerators

15%

Medical Waste 

Incinerators

1%

ICI Boilers Total 

7%

Electric Utility 

Boilers Total

26%

Total 

Manufacturing 

Sources

4%

Residential 

Heating

15%

Industrial 

Processes

5%

Municipal Waste 

Combustors

34%

Sewage Sludge 

Incinerators

20%

Medical Waste 

Incinerators

1%

ICI Boilers Total 

1%

Electric Utility 

Boilers Total

31%

Total 

Manufacturing 

Sources

5%

Residential 

Heating

1%

Industrial 

Processes

7%

Original Inventory 

(1829 kg)

Revised Inventory 

(1423 kg)
xiv

measurements were approximately six ppm and biodiesel somewhat higher at 27 ppm, consistent with 

previously reported values.

The fuel oil testing results found no strong relationship between the concentration of any trace element and the 

sulfur content of the fuel sample. On a more macroscopic scale, the trace element concentrations in residual fuel 

oil are generally at least an order of magnitude higher than in distillate heating oil and diesel. Mercury is the 

exception, as it appears to be at comparable and relatively low levels in #2 distillate and #6 residual oils.

Table ES-2. Sulfur (S) Content in Fuel Oil Samples

Note: Parentheticals in the table represent the number of samples obtained or 

that were used to calculate a particular value.

*Averages calculated by substituting half the instrumental minimum detection 

limit for samples below the limit. 

Analysis of biodiesel constitutes one novel result for this study as this fuel represents an emerging market. 

Based on the results, biofuel appears to have similar composition to ultra-low-sulfur diesel with trace 

elemental composition at or below that determined for home heating oil. Its sulfur level, however, appears 

on average to be higher than ultra-low-sulfur diesel, based on these limited samples and findings from other 

more extensive studies. Current USEPA regulations require all diesel fuel (highway and nonroad) meet a 

15 ppm level as of June 2010 (Federal Register 2006). Refined levels in ultra-low-sulfur diesel may need to 

be as low as five ppm to assure product at the pump meets the 15 ppm requirement. The fuel sampling 

results in New York State indicate that biodiesel in and of itself may not necessarily be below ultra-lowsulfur diesel regulatory levels if not subject to the same regulatory or certification requirements. Such 

certification is possible, with the biodiesel industry having developed a voluntary fuel accreditation 

program called BQ-9000 that includes certification testing for 15 ppm (as well as 500 ppm) sulfur content 

Type (n) Metric S Content (ppm)

maximum 2899

minimum 807

average 1998

median 1920

maximum 3860

minimum 2780

average 3020

median 2970

maximum 8

minimum <3 (1)

average 5.6

median 5

maximum 84

minimum 4

average 27.3*

median 30.5

Home Heating/ Diesel (102)

Residual (16)

Ultra-low Sulfur (11)

Bio-diesel (8)
xv

in pure (100%) biodiesel (National Biodiesel Board 2008). Accreditation under the BQ-9000 program 

requires that the fuel must meet the biodiesel certification levels established by the industry standard 

method ASTM D6751 (ASTM International 2010).

Recently passed legislation in New York State mandates that all No. 2 distillate home heating oil meet the 

same ultra-low-sulfur fuel standard (15 ppm) as highway and nonroad diesel fuel by July 2012. This law 

carries significant public health, environmental, and other benefits (Batey and McDonald 2005). SO2 and 

PM2.5 emissions will be drastically reduced; for example, the annual SO2 emissions from the residential 

home heating sector in New York are estimated to decrease to about 150 short tons SO2, which corresponds 

to a 99% reduction from 2005 levels. This would diminish the residential sector’s share of the statewide 

SO2 emissions inventory from 9% in 2005 to well less than 1% after the law is fully implemented. 

Figure ES-2 illustrates the potential impact that using ultra low sulfur fuels in the residential and 

commercial/institutional sectors has on the overall SO2 emissions inventory for New York State. This figure 

shows the 2005 SO2 emissions by sector from USEPA’s National Emissions Inventory (NEI) (left side) and the 

potential reduction in SO2 emissions if ultra-low-sulfur fuel was used in the residential and 

commercial/industrial sectors (right side). Other air pollutants, such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon 

dioxide (CO2), will decrease as well as the boilers and furnaces will operate more efficiently on ultra-low-sulfur 

oil. This also has the added benefit of requiring less equipment service, thus lowering the costs for maintenance.

Figure ES-2. General Source Category Contributions to the 2005 New York State Sulfur Dioxide 

Emissions Inventory and Low Sulfur Potential.

Implications and Future Directions

With the information presented here specific to New York State and the region, air quality program

managers can factor into their work improved inventory estimates of mercury and other trace metal 

emissions. Because these inventories form the basis for decisions, either by direct analysis or use in air 

2005 NEI Inventory Low Sulfur Potential

Commercial/Institutional

10%

Electric Utility

49%

Industrial Boilers

18%

Residential 

Fireplaces/Woodstoves

0%

Residential Fuel 

Combustion

9%

Planes, Trains, & Ships

4%

Non-Road Equipment 

2%

Waste Disposal

1%

On-Road Vehicles 

1%

Miscellaneous 

0% Indus Process

6%

Electric Utility

60%

Planes, Trains, & Ships

4% Non-Road Equipment 

2%

On-Road Vehicles 

2%

Miscellaneous 

0%

Industrial Boilers

21%

Waste Disposal

1%

Commercial/Institutional

3%

Residential 

Fireplaces/Woodstoves

0%

Indus Process

7% Residential Fuel 

Combustion

0%
xvi

quality modeling exercises, they require a reasonable degree of accuracy. Results for mercury, in particular, 

demonstrate the need to continually review and reassess available emission factors and associated 

emissions estimates. Improved estimates can be applied toward prioritization of control strategies as New 

York State addresses its regional goal of significantly reducing mercury releases and deposition from air 

into water bodies of the state and region. In addition, the measurements of other trace elements provide a 

firmer foundation going forward in evaluating potential public exposure and source contributions to these 

elements as scientific understanding of their public health and ecological impacts evolve (e.g., nickel and 

vanadium).
xvii

REFERENCES

ASTM International. 2010. Method D6751-10: Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock 

(B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels. ASTM International. West Conshohocken, PA. 

Batey, J.E. and R.J. McDonald. 2005. Low Sulfur Home Heating Oil Demonstration Project Summary 

Report. Energy Research Center, Inc. and Brookhaven National Laboratory, funded by the New 

York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

(EIA) Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2009. New York Distillate Fuel Oil 

and Kerosene Sales by End Use. EIA. Washington, DC. 

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_821use_dcu_sny_a.htm (accessed May 12, 2010). 

(EIA) Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2010a. Use of Energy in the United 

States Explained: Energy Use in Homes. EIA. Washington, DC. 

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=us_energy_homes (accessed May 11, 

2010). 

(EIA) Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2010b. Heating Oil Explained: Use 

of Heating Oil. EIA. Washington, DC. 

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=heating_oil_use (accessed May 7, 2010).

Federal Register, 2006. Technical Amendments to the Highway and Nonroad Diesel Regulations; Final 

Rule and Proposed Rule. 71(83): 25706-25726.

Lippmann, M., K. Ito, J.S. Hwang, P. Maciejczyk, and L.C. Chen. 2006. Cardiovascular Effects of Nickel 

in Ambient Air. Environmental Health Perspectives. 114(11): 1662-1669.

Mahaffey, K.R., R.P. Clickner, and R.A. Jeffries. 2009. Adult Women’s Blood Mercury Concentrations 

Vary Regionally in the United States: Association with Patterns of Fish Consumption (NHANES 

1999-2004). Environmental Health Perspectives. 117: 47-53. 

National Biodiesel Board. 2008. Specification for Biodiesel (B100) – ASTM D6751-09. National Biodiesel 

Board. Jefferson City, MO. http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/BDSpec.pdf (accessed 

October 14, 2010).

(NEIWPCC) New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. 2007. Northeast Regional 

Mercury Total Maximum Daily Load. NEIWPCC. Lowell, MA. 

http://www.neiwpcc.org/mercury/MercuryTMDL.asp (accessed May 7, 2010).

(NESCAUM) Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. 2005. Inventory of Anthropogenic 

Mercury Emissions in the Northeast. NESCAUM. Boston, MA. 

http://www.nescaum.org/documents/inventory-of-anthropogenic-mercury-emissions-in-thenortheast/rpt051130ne2002mercury_invrpt.pdf (accessed May 10, 2010). 

(NESCAUM) Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. 2006. Contributions to Regional 

Haze in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States: Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Union 

(MANE-VU) Contribution Assessment. NESCAUM. Boston, MA. 
xviii

http://www.nescaum.org/documents/contributions-to-regional-haze-in-the-northeast-and-midatlantic--united-states/ (accessed August 19, 2010).

(NESCAUM) Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. 2008. Sources of Mercury 

Deposition in the Northeast United States. NESCAUM. Boston, MA. 

http://www.nescaum.org/documents/nescaum-sources-of-hg-depo-in-northeast_2008-final.pdf/

(accessed May 10, 2010).

(USEPA) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1998. AP-42 Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission 

Factors, Volume 1: Stationary Point and Area Sources, 5th edition, Chapter 1.3: External 

Combustion Sources – Fuel Oil Combustion. USEPA. Research Triangle Park, NC. 

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch01/index.html (accessed May 10, 2010)

(USEPA) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1997. Mercury Study Report to Congress. USEPA. EPA452/R-97-004.
1-1

SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION 

Purpose of Assessment

The purpose of this project is to assess the contents of mercury (Hg) and other trace elements including 

lead (Pb), arsenic (As), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), antimony (Sb), selenium 

(Se), and zinc (Zn) as well as sulfur (S) in fuel oil used in New York State and the neighboring region. This 

will assist the region in better understanding the relative contributions of the source category to overall 

trace element emissions. The data can also be useful in assessing exposures to emissions that may have 

detrimental human health impacts.

About 6.4 million households in the northeastern United States rely on home heating oil for heating needs, 

representing about 80% of the total U.S. households dependent upon home heating oil as their primary 

heating fuel. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 82% of all residential fuel oil 

sales in 2008 occurred in the Northeast, comprising about 3.8 billion gallons of heating oil sold to 

residential consumers (EIA 2010a). The top consuming state for home heating oil in the United States is 

New York State, followed by its neighboring states Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New 

Jersey. In 2008, New York consumers bought a little over one billion gallons of home heating oil (No. 2 

distillate fuel oil), or over one-fifth of all heating oil sold in the entire United States (EIA 2009).

Combustion of heating oil by necessity is co-located with residential areas. As a result, human exposure to 

toxic metals from oil combustion can be relatively greater in areas where large amounts of heating oil are 

combusted, such as in New York State and other areas of the Northeast. The uncertainty in emissions of 

toxic metals from heating oil, however, can hinder assessments of public exposure to these air pollutants. 

The work described in this report seeks to address these data gaps through representative sampling of 

heating oil streams at various distribution points in New York State and adjoining areas. A special 

emphasis is placed on measuring the Hg content in heating oil due to public and ecological health concerns 

over eating fish that have high Hg levels as a result of atmospheric deposition.

Background on Mercury

Mercury is a toxic metal found in residential heating oil (and other fuel oils) that is emitted to the air when 

the oil is burned. Once in the atmosphere, Hg can be deposited locally or transported over long distances 

before falling back to the surface. When released into the environment and deposited or carried into water 

bodies, Hg can be converted to methylmercury, a particularly toxic form of Hg. Methylated Hg in the 

aquatic food chain can bioaccumulate in fish tissue to concentrations markedly higher than in the 

surrounding water.
1-2

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, particularly damaging to the fetus and young child. A major route of 

exposure to Hg in humans is through the eating of fish. Women of child bearing age are of special concern 

as methylmercury ingested by a mother can transport across the placenta into the brain of a developing 

fetus. In young children and fetuses, methylmercury inhibits the normal development of the nervous 

system, an effect that may occur even at low exposure levels. This damage frequently is not apparent until 

later in the developmental process, when motor and verbal skills are found to be delayed or abnormal. 

Developmental effects have been found in children exposed in utero, even though their mothers did not 

experience any symptoms of adult toxicity (USEPA 1997a). 

Women in the Northeast have the highest Hg exposure in the U.S., with 19% exceeding blood organic Hg

level considered safe for fetuses (Mahaffey et al. 2009). This translates into over 84,000 newborns in the 

Northeast at risk for irreversible neurological deficits from exposure to Hg in the womb. Emerging data 

also suggest a link between Hg exposure and increased risk of adverse cardiovascular effects (Salonen et al. 

2000; Mozaffarian and Rimm 2006). Further, previous analyses confirmed that eating mercurycontaminated fish and shellfish is the primary route of accumulating blood organic Hg for most people 

(Mahaffey et al. 2004). Humans are not the only ones at risk; Hg also threatens fauna at the top of food 

chain. Birds, such as common loons, and mammals, such as otters, that eat the fish can also have high 

levels of Hg in their bodies. 

Most of the Hg present in water bodies − and the fish within them − in New York State and the Northeast is 

deposited from the atmosphere (Bookman et al. 2008; NESCAUM 2008). Atmospheric emissions of Hg

come mainly from combustion sources including electric utility, industrial, commercial, and institutional

boilers and municipal waste and sewage sludge incinerators. The Hg in combusted fuels originates 

primarily from petroleum and coal. The USEPA Mercury Study Report to Congress (1997a) determined 

that the coal combustion in utility boilers constituted the largest source category for atmospheric Hg and 

also indicated there were, at the time, insufficient data and information available to estimate the amount of 

Hg emissions that result from the combustion of liquid fossil fuels.

Given recent measurements showing elevated Hg levels in freshwater fish, New York State and many other

states have issued health advisories that recommend limiting the consumption of fish from state water 

bodies (NYS DOH 2010; USEPA 2010a). This is the best immediate approach for limiting exposure to Hg

that is already present in the environment. Because it is believed that about 80-90% of atmospheric Hg 

deposition in New York State arises from out-of-state sources, including a major portion from sources 

outside the U.S. (NYSERDA 2002; 2005; Seigneur et al. 2003; 2004), broad regional as well as 

international efforts will be needed to reduce continuing Hg deposition to New York State water bodies. 

While this is a daunting challenge, studies have found that, depending on the characteristics of a given 

watershed, the availability of mercury for uptake by aquatic biota can decline rapidly within a year of 

deposition, with previously stored mercury in the watersheds being a relatively small source (Harris et al. 
1-3

2007; Orihel et al. 2007; Orihel et al. 2008). Several studies have tracked decreases in fish tissue mercury 

levels correlated with decreases in regional and local mercury emission reductions (MassDEP 2006; Evers

et al. 2007). For these water bodies, decreases in mercury air emissions can lead to rapid (years) decreases 

in mercury fish tissue levels.

While some improvement in Hg content in fish with decreasing emissions has been observed, these results 

may depend upon type of fish species and water shed characteristics, including land use patterns and 

changes, organic matter properties, acid/base (pH) levels, bacterial community, and water chemistry 

(Madison Declaration, 2007). Wide-spread long-term monitoring is expensive, limiting the ability to 

generalize broadly from results of specific fish tissue sampling studies (NYSERDA 2010). There is limited 

knowledge on how factors such as climate change and weather extremes (freeze/thaw, drying/saturation, 

etc.) may affect mercury levels, with modeling of physical attributes (e.g., watershed characteristics and 

climatic variables) providing only relatively modest predictive power of variance in fish tissue Hg 

concentrations in lakes and reservoirs (Shanley et al. 2005). For sites that have reported co-located 

sediment and fish tissue sampling results, no relationship between sediment Hg and fish tissue Hg has been 

found (Kamman et al. 2005). Sulfate reducing bacteria also play a role in methylating mercury, therefore

reductions in emissions of sulfur oxides may influence the rate of Hg release or retention in soils and water 

bodies and ultimately fish tissue Hg concentrations (Drevnick et al. 2007).

To address Hg in the environment and its threat to human health, New York State and surrounding states 

have pursued a number of initiatives aimed at the virtual elimination of Hg releases into the environment. 

In December 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) approved a request from New 

York State and the six New England states to establish a regional Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for 

Hg under the federal Clean Water Act. The regional Hg TMDL was set at a level that would decrease Hg 

levels in fish tissue low enough for states to lift their fish consumption advisories (NEIWPCC 2007). 

Subsequently in 2009, New Jersey also received approval from the USEPA for a Hg TMDL in 122 

impaired waters within the state that was set at a comparable level to the regional Hg TMDL previously 

established by New York State and the six New England states (NJ DEP 2009).

As noted above, the dominant source of Hg in surface waters of New York State and other states in the 

region is from atmospheric deposition, with contributions on the global, regional, and local scales 

(Bookman et al. 2008; NESCAUM 2008; NYSERDA 2002; 2005; Seigneur et al. 2003). To achieve the 

regional TMDL, New York State and the other states in the Northeast project that atmospheric deposition 

needs to be reduced up to 98% from 1998 levels (NEIWPCC 2007).

In order to effectively target efforts that can reduce atmospheric deposition of mercury, air quality planners 

and modelers require accurate inventories of mercury air emission sources (Walcek et al. 2003). An 

inventory analysis of air emission sources in the Northeast identified residential fuel oil combustion as an 

important contributor to the Hg emissions in the region (NESCAUM 2005a). When added to estimated Hg
1-4

emissions from oil used to fire boilers in the commercial, industrial, institutional, and electrical generating 

sectors, emissions derived from oil combustion comprised nearly one-fourth of the regional inventory total.

The inventory estimates were based on emission factors from the USEPA’s AP-42 Compilation of Air 

Pollutant Emission Factors, commonly referred to as AP-42 (USEPA 1998). This is a comprehensive list of 

emission factors developed by the USEPA to estimate the quantity of pollutants released into the 

atmosphere from a given activity. Emission factors from this compilation serve as a primary resource for 

emissions inventory development in the United States.

In contrast to estimates based on USEPA’s AP-42 Hg emissions factor for oil combustion, more recent 

research on the Hg content of crude oil sponsored by the USEPA and Environment Canada suggests much 

lower emissions from petroleum fuels (Wilhelm et al. 2007; Environment Canada 2007). These analyses 

indicate a need to update the Hg emission factors for petroleum distillates.

The Hg emissions from oil combustion in New York State and the Northeast in general are difficult to 

estimate due to lack of data on concentrations of Hg compounds in liquid fuels. The concentration of Hg in 

crude oil is highly dependent on geologic location and can vary from 0.01 ppb to 10 ppm by weight 

(Wilhelm and Bloom 2000). An early estimate by the USEPA of Hg content in distillate oil was given as 

120 ppb (USEPA 1997b). This level is much higher than later estimates finding levels below one ppb 

(Liang et al. 1996; Rising et al. 2004). This report addresses this data inconsistency through direct 

measurements of representative distillate fuels used in New York State and the Northeast.

While less than 1% of Hg emitted in 2002 was attributed to the combustion of natural gas from all 

combustion sources (NESCAUM 2005a), it is included in this study because it is a major residential fuel in 

several states in the Northeast. Therefore, the environmental importance of natural gas combustion cannot 

be ignored due to its proximity to population. In addition, Hg in natural gas is detrimental from an 

industrial standpoint. It can cause corrosion of aluminum structures and damage catalytic processes that 

have lead to expensive plant shut downs (Kinney 1975).

Background on Trace Elements and Other HAPs

Trace elements pose significant public health risk due to inhalation toxicity or carcinogenicity of certain 

compounds containing these elements. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 listed ten trace element 

compounds among its 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 

Registry (ATSDR) has developed 302 toxicological profiles including all the trace elements discussed in 

this report, with some of them updated recently. Much of the information regarding the health effects of 

trace elements is cited from the ATSDR, unless noted otherwise.

Lead is one of the oldest known environmental toxins (records date back to 4000 years ago), and because it 

was used in a broad variety of products, humans are still exposed to lead on a daily basis (Florea and 

Busselberg 2006). It has been studied and regulated extensively. Its health impacts include, but are not 
1-5

limited to, neurotoxicity, developmental delays, hypertension, impaired hearing acuity, impaired 

hemoglobin synthesis, and male reproductive impairment (USEPA 2004). Children are more vulnerable to 

lead poisoning, and a bigger proportion of swallowed lead can enter the blood in children than in adults 

(ATSDR 2007a).

Inorganic arsenic has been recognized as a human poison since ancient times. Small oral doses may lead to 

stomachache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, while large doses can result in death. Breathing high levels of 

arsenic in the air is likely to lead to a sore throat and irritated lungs (ATSDR 2007b).

Recent research suggests an association between nickel and vanadium concentrations in fine particulate 

matter and average daily mortality coefficients, with residual oil combustion being an important emissions 

source for these elements (Lippmann et al. 2006). A study in New York City suggested that increases in

ambient levels of nickel and vanadium from residual heating oil and/or traffic may be associated with 

respiratory symptoms among very young children (Patel et al. 2009). ATSDR (2005a) reported that the

most serious harmful health effects from exposure to nickel, such as chronic bronchitis and reduced lung 

function, have occurred in people who have breathed dust containing certain nickel compounds while 

working in nickel refineries. The levels of nickel in these workplaces, however, were much higher than 

usual levels in the environment. The most common harmful health effect on nickel in humans is an allergic 

reaction. ATSDR (2009) reported that breathing high levels of vanadium caused irritated lungs and eyes 

that can persist for days to weeks. Vanadium and vanadium compounds are hazardous, with the oxidized 

form of vanadium, vanadium pentoxide, more toxic than the elemental form (Moskalyk and Alfantazi 

2003). A study on urban particles around Seville, Spain determined that vanadium, compared to the other 

metals, had the highest percentage (50.4%) in the soluble and exchangeable fraction, meaning that 

vanadium is the most available metal to the human body via respiration (Espinosa et al. 2002). 

The major sources of lead emissions have historically been motor vehicles (such as cars and trucks) and 

industrial sources. As a result of the USEPA’s regulatory efforts to remove lead from gasoline, levels of 

lead in the air decreased by 92% between 1980 and 2008 (USEPA 2010b). For New York State in 2002, 

lead emissions from non-road equipments and electricity generation comprised the top two biggest source 

sectors, with each contributing about 16 tons per year. The fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes 

are the third and fourth biggest source sectors, respectively, and each contributed about 12 tons per year. 

Coal combustion has been identified as the single largest emission source sector of most of the other trace 

elements except for lead. Emissions from oil combustion are generally small compared with coal, with the 

exception of the majority of nickel emissions coming from oil combustion (Friedman et al. 1993). While 

oil-fired power plants and residual oil used in industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) boilers and 

ocean-going vessels are thought to be the primary oil combustion sources for trace element emissions, more 

information is needed to assess the amount of trace elements emitted into the ambient air through the 

combustion of heating oil in New York State and the region.
1-6

Respiratory effects, such as inflammation of the lungs, chronic bronchitis, and chronic emphysema, are the 

primary effects noted from chronic (long-term) exposure to antimony in humans via inhalation (USEPA 

2000). Acute (short-term) exposure to antimony can result in effects on the skin and eyes. Some antimony 

compounds have been used as a medicine to treat infection with parasites (ATSDR 1992). While the 

USEPA has not classified antimony for carcinogenicity, antimony trioxide is a possible carcinogen to 

humans (IARC 1998).

Unlike other trace elements discussed in this report, cobalt, manganese, selenium, and zinc have both 

beneficial and harmful effects on human health. They are essential nutrients for normal growth of plants 

and animals. Ingesting too much, however, can affect health. Some symptoms are cited here for reference. 

(1) Serious effects on the lungs have been found in people exposed to 0.005 mg/m3 of cobalt while working 

with hard metal. The general public, however, is not likely to be exposed to that high level of cobalt dust 

(ATSDR 2004). (2) The inhalation of a large quantity of dust containing manganese may cause irritation of 

the lungs that could lead to pneumonia (ATSDR 2008). (3) Chronic inhalation exposure to selenium 

dioxide or elemental selenium as dust may have respiratory effects such as irritation of the nose, respiratory 

tract, and lungs, bronchial spasms, and coughing (ATSDR 2003). (4) If large doses of zinc (10-15 times 

higher than the Recommended Dietary Allowance) are taken by mouth even for a short time, stomach 

cramps, nausea, and vomiting may occur (ATSDR 2005b).

Of all the elements analyzed in this study, sulfur has the highest prevalence in No. 2 home heating oil. In 

the past, the average sulfur content of heating oil hovered around 0.25%, or 2500 ppm, although it has 

varied more in recent years (Batey and McDonald 2005). On average, at least 95% of the sulfur in the fuel 

converts to sulfur dioxide (SO2) upon combustion, so there is a linear relationship between the sulfur 

content of the fuel and SO2 emissions (USEPA 1998). The combustion of No. 2 distillate oil in residential 

and commercial burners and furnaces is the second largest source sector of SO2 emissions in the 

NESCAUM region2

Acute exposure to high levels of SO2 (e.g., 100 ppm) is an immediate danger to health and can be lifethreatening; chronic exposure to persistent levels can cause respiratory symptoms and decreased lung 

function (ATSDR 1998). Upon oxidation (and often association with ammonium), gaseous SO2 can convert 

to particle sulfate (NARSTO 2003). In the NESCAUM region, the overall mass of PM2.5 (particulate matter 

with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns) is typically comprised of at least 40% sulfate and can be up to 

two-thirds of the total mass on the highest PM2.5 days (NESCAUM 2006). 

(electric power plants are the largest source sector) at over 120,000 tons per year, or 

15% of the regional inventory (NESCAUM 2005b). 

 

2 The NESCAUM region is comprised of the six New England States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) plus New Jersey and New York.
1-7

Across the region, sulfate is a major component of PM2.5 during the winter months, when sales of No. 2 

distillate fuel oil are at their highest (see the next section). Due to the wintertime meteorology, local sources 

of sulfate are increasingly important, because winter-time low inversion layers prevent vertical mixing, 

which inhibits dilution and dispersion of the accumulating pollution. For example, in New York City one 

third of the total winter-time PM2.5 mass is urban (local) sulfate (i.e., not from long range transport) 

(NESCAUM 2006). 

Exposure to PM2.5 is associated with adverse human health effects. Research (including toxicological, 

clinical, and epidemiological studies) has found links to respiratory and cardiac impacts, from minor 

irritation to chronic disease. Key health effects studies have also identified a positive relationship between 

mortality and PM2.5 (Abbey et al. 1999; Dockery et al. 1993; Lipfert et al. 2000; Pope et al., 1995). PM2.5

itself is complex in nature, so it is difficult to pinpoint a single component (if one exists) to explain all the 

health effects observed. Nevertheless, source apportionment based studies tend to identify sulfateassociated sources as the top PM2.5 source linked to daily mortality (Mar et al. 2006; Thurston et al. 2005). 

A Boston study determined that individuals with diabetes (which increases cardiovascular risk) are 

particularly vulnerable to sulfates; the researchers observed endothelium-dependent and -independent 

vascular reactivity when diabetics exposed to sulfate particle increases (O’Neill et al. 2005).

Recent reports indicate that lowering the sulfur content of home heating oil will significantly reduce the

public health and environmental impacts of PM2.5 at a favorable cost-benefit ratio (Batey and McDonald 

2005; NESCAUM 2005b). There are also additional substantial benefits, including reduction of other air 

pollutants (80% in PM, 10% in NOx, 1-2% in CO2) and decreased boiler and furnace fouling rates, which 

translates to significant savings in service costs for the home heating oil customer. 

Currently, essentially all highway and nonroad diesel fuel is required by the USEPA to meet the ultra-lowsulfur regulation (maximum content of 15 ppm) (Federal Register 2006). In July 2010, New York adopted 

a law requiring that all No. 2 heating oil sold in the state contain no more than 15 ppm sulfur as of July 1, 

2012 and all No.4 heating oil sold in New York City contain no more than 1500 ppm sulfur as of October 

1, 2012. Similar legislation or regulations have already passed in Connecticut and Maine and have been 

proposed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (EIA 2010b).

Residential Fuel Use in New York State and the Northeast

In the United States, the majority of home heating oil is used in New York State and neighboring areas of 

the Northeast. About 82% of residential distillate oil sales in the U.S. in 2008 occurred in the region, and 

New York State has the highest percentage (23.5%) of sales among all states nationally (EIA 2009). Figure 

1-1 gives the amount of fuel oil sales in the Northeast according to jurisdiction.

A prominent feature in the upper Northeast (New Jersey, New York, and New England) is that the share of 

distillate oil as a home heating fuel is much higher than the 2005 national average of 7% (EIA 2010c). In 
1-8

New York State, about 33% of households use fuel oil (EIA 2010d), with an estimated 2.2 million 

households using fuel oil for home heating in 2001 (NYSERDA 2007). Distillate oil is the primary home 

heating fuel in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, with shares above 50% (Figure 1-2).

The percentages of households that use fuel oil in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are around 40%, close 

to the share of natural gas.

Natural gas is a primary source of home heating in New York State and New Jersey, with percentage shares 

above the national average. In New York State, natural gas is used in 52% of homes. The share of 

households using natural gas as the home heating fuel is below the national average level in the other states, 

with relatively low use in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire (Figure 1-2). 

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

CT DE DC ME MD MA NH NJ NY PA RI VT

Million Gallons

Source: EIA 2009

Figure 1-1. Residential Distillate Fuel Oil Sales in 2008 in the Northeast.
1-9

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Percent of Households

CT ME MA NH NJ NY RI VT

Other/None

LPG

Electricity

Fuel Oil

NaturalGas

Figure 1-2. Shares of Household Heating Fuels in the Upper Northeast States in 2000.

With specific regard to New York State, a NYSERDA-sponsored study assessing the petroleum storage and 

delivery infrastructure in the New York City, Long Island, and Hudson River regions looked into the 

interplay of natural gas and residential heating oil (distillate) as they competed for market share (ICF 

Consulting 2006). Based on 2004 data, the most recent data available at the time of the report, residential 

oil appeared to be holding its market share in terms of total volume, but was losing market share to natural 

gas with population growth. Since 2004, however, residential heating oil sales volume has dropped 

dramatically (Figure 1-3). Heating oil sales have decreased by about 350 million gallons from 2004 to 2008 

(a 24% decrease). The drop since the 1980s has been even larger, with a sales volume decrease of over onethird since a peak above 1.7 billion gallons in 1988 to a minimum of about 1.1 billion gallons in 2008, its 

lowest sales volume in at least 25 years. By contrast, residential natural gas consumption in New York 

State has increased by about 20% since 1984 (Figure 1-4).

Even though the residential sales volume was at a minimum in 2008, residential use of distillate oil in New 

York State was nearly as much as in the transportation sector, with both sectors accounting for over 75% of 

total sales that year. Table 1-1 provides the 2008 New York State volumes and percentages in sales of 

distillate and residual fuel oils by end use. Figure 1-5 shows the seasonality in all sales; the volumes are 

highest in the winter months when residential usage peaks. 

The county-level distribution of fuel oil consumption in New York State is shown in Figure 1-6. The latest 

available data is for 2008, and comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). 

The ACS provides the number of households who primarily use fuel oil for heating (note that the ACS is 
1-10

conducted only in counties with populations greater than 20,000). The average household distillate fuel oil 

consumption was estimated by dividing the 2008 residential sales volume by the total number of 

households primarily using fuel oil. The geographic distribution plotted in the figure was estimated by 

applying this factor to the number of households per county. As expected, the six most populous counties 

are estimated to have the highest consumption.

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2,000,000

1984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008

Residential Fuel Oil Sales (1000 gal)

Source: EIA 2009

Figure 1-3. Annual Residential Fuel Oil Sales in New York State, 1984-2008.
1-11

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

1984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008

Natural Gas Residential Consumption (million cubic feet)

Source: EIA 2010e

Figure 1-4. Annual Residential Natural Gas Consumption in New York State, 1984-2008.

Table 1-1. 2008 Distillate and Residual Fuel Oil Sales in New York State Based on End Use

Thousand Gallons Percentage (%) Thousand Gallons Percentage (%)

Residential 1,088,618 37.0

Commercial 526,526 17.9 273,185 34.5

Industrial 48,999 1.7 43,983 5.6

Farm 41,076 1.4

Electric Power 16,793 0.6 103,837 13.1

Oil Company 877 0.0 467 0.1

Transportation 1,172,617 39.8 369,650 46.7

Military 3,929 0.1 0 0.0

Off-Highway 45,684 1.6

Other 0 0.0 27 0.0

TOTAL 2,945,119 100.0 791,149 100.0

Distillate Fuel Oil Residual Fuel Oil Sector

Source: EIA 2009
1-12

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Distillate fuel (thousand gallons)

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: EIA 2010f

Figure 1-5. Monthly New York Distillate Oil Retail Deliveries.
1-13

Sources: EIA 2009; U.S. Census Bureau 2009 (gray-shaded counties have populations below 20,000 and were not 

covered in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey).

Figure 1-6. Estimated 2008 Residential Distillate Fuel Oil Consumption by New York State County

(Thousand Gallons).

Mercury and Trace Elements in Crude Oil

Crude oil refers to the unrefined petroleum taken from the ground. The trace amounts of Hg and other 

elements in crude oil are of interest not only because of the toxicity of these compounds but also because of 

harmful effects they can have on refining equipment and the impact on the market value of the fuel 

(Wilhelm and Kirchgessner 2003; Hardaway et al. 2004). Mercury and elements from crude oil can be 

released to the environment through combustion of the refined products or through oil spills. The amount of 

Hg and other trace elements in crude oil varies considerably and is dependant on its geologic location 

(Wilhelm et al. 2000).

Mercury

Levels of total Hg in crude oil have been reported as low as 0.1 μg/kg (Kelly et al. 2003) and as high as 

10,000 μg/kg (Wilhelm and Bloom 2000). It can be found in crude oil in several different chemical forms. 

These forms differ in their chemical and physical properties and include elemental Hg, dissolved organic 

Hg, inorganic Hg salts, complexed Hg, suspended Hg compounds, and suspended adsorbed Hg (USEPA 

2001).
1-14

Elemental Hg is soluble in hydrocarbon liquids to only a few parts per million (ppm) but can adsorb onto 

metallic surfaces or suspended solids in the liquid, resulting in the suspended adsorbed form. In contrast, 

organic Hg compounds are highly soluble in liquid oil while having similar adsorptive properties to 

elemental Hg. Due to differences in solubilities and boiling points, organic Hg compounds can be separated

from each other and from elemental Hg by distillation.

Inorganic Hg salts are soluble in liquid oil and can also be found in the suspended form or attached to 

suspended particles. Suspended Hg compounds are compounds insoluble in water and oil and thus are 

present as a suspended particle. The most common examples in this category are mercuric sulfide (HgS) 

and mercuric selenide (HgSe). Finally, complexed Hg refers to Hg bound to other constituents, such as an 

organic sulfide, thiol, or thiophene. These complexes are only postulated to exist in crude oil and 

condensates but have not been identified with certainty. Their existence is inferred from chromatographic 

experiments and operational speciation experiments (Wilhelm and Bloom 2000).

Wilhelm et al. (2007) provides a recent analysis of Hg levels in domestic and imported crude oils processed 

in the United States in 2004. Based on 170 different oil streams, the researchers estimated a total mean of 

7.3 μg/kg total Hg in crude oil. The individual measurements showed a range of <0.5 μg/kg to 600 μg/kg. 

Crude oils originating in the United States were found to contain, on average, 4.3 μg/kg total Hg with the 

highest concentrations found in crudes produced in California. Of the imported crude oil, the highest 

concentrations of total Hg were found in Asian crudes, with an average concentration of 220 μg/kg. This 

average was dominated by reported concentrations of crude oil imported from Thailand (593 μg/kg) and 

Vietnam (66.5 μg/kg). Aside from domestic production, the largest contributor to the United States’ supply 

of crude oil is from the Middle East. The estimated average concentration in oil streams from Saudi Arabia, 

Iraq, and Kuwait was 0.8 μg/kg (Wilhelm et al. 2007).

Environment Canada sponsored a survey of Hg content of crude oil processed in Canada between 

November 2003 and March 2006 (Environment Canada 2007). The study looked at 32 different crude oil 

streams, comprising 70% of Canada’s total 2002 market volume. The study reported an average total Hg

concentration of 2.6 ± 0.5 μg/kg in all crude oil processed in Canada. The total Hg content of crude oil 

produced in Canada was found to be lower on average than found in imported crudes. The range of Hg

concentrations from domestic and imported fuels was found to be 0.1-50 μg/kg.

While Wilhelm et al. (2007) and Environment Canada (2007) provide the most recent estimates of total Hg

levels in crude oil, several previous studies have characterized these concentrations in crude oil from 

several points of origin. In the early 1970s, Shah et al. (1970) reported average concentrations of Hg

ranging between 20 to 7500 μg/kg. Since then, analytical methods have improved dramatically and allowed 

for more accurate and sensitive methods for detecting Hg. Table 1-2 below summarizes reported Hg levels 

in crude oils from a variety of sources and analyzed by different detection methods.
1-15

Table 1-2. Total Mercury in Crude Oil of Different Origins

Trace Elements

Crude oils generally contain trace concentrations of elements in the part per billion (ppb) to part per million 

(ppm) range. Similarly to Hg, the content of the other trace elements in crude oil is a characteristic of the 

location where the oil is produced and can be released to the atmosphere through combustion processes.

Of the other trace elements, nickel and vanadium are the most abundant metallic elements in crude oil 

(Shah et al. 1970; Filby et al. 1994). They are generally found in the ppm range. Arsenic, cobalt, 

manganese, lead, selenium, and antimony are generally found in crude oil in the ppb range. Table 1-3

below summarizes the levels of As, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn, Co, V, Se, and Sb reported in the literature.

Reference Source N Mean (ug/kg) Range (ug/kg) Method

Shah et al. 1970 US, California NA 7551 81-29688

Instrumental Neutron Activation 

Analysis

Shah et al. 1970 Libya NA 739 62.4-2078

Instrumental Neutron Activation 

Analysis

Shah et al. 1970 US, Louisiana NA 22.5 NA

Instrumental Neutron Activation 

Analysis

Shah et al. 1970 US, Wyoming NA 76.8 NA

Instrumental Neutron Activation 

Analysis

Filby et al. 1994 United States, Heavy Crude 6 <47 NA ICP-MS

Filby et al. 1994 United States, Light Crude 6 <27 NA ICP-MS

Musa et al. 1995 Libya 7 3.1 0.1-12.2 Nuetron Activation Analysis

Magaw et al. 1999 Middle East 2 <10 NA Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

Magaw et al. 1999 Africa 4 <10 NA Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

Magaw et al. 1999 North America 11 146 ND-1560 Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

Magaw et al. 1999 Asia 4 <10 NA Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

Magaw et al. 1999 South America 4 <10 NA Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

Magaw et al. 1999 North Sea 1 <10 NA Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption

Bloom 2000 NA 76 1505 NA

Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence 

Spectrometry

Bloom 2000 NA 39 3009 NA

Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence 

Spectrometry

Bloom 2000 NA 37 1.2 NA

Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence 

Spectrometry

Liang et al. 2000 NA 11 4.4 1.6-7.2

Thermal Decomposition and Atomic 

Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Kelly et al. 2003 US, Texas 9 0.139 0.127-0.151 Isotope Dilution Cold-Vapor ICP-MS

Kelly et al. 2003 US, Texas 18 0.129 0.119-0.140 Isotope Dilution Cold-Vapor ICP-MS

Kelly et al. 2003 US, Texas 6 0.053 0.044-0.061 Isotope Dilution Cold-Vapor ICP-MS

Kelly et al. 2003 US, Texas 11 0.042 0.039-0.046 Isotope Dilution Cold-Vapor ICP-MS

Wilhelm et al. 2007 Africa, 7 Countries 21 2.7 0.3-13.3

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 Asia, 3 Countries 4 220.1 0.8-593.1

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 Canada 32 2.1 NA

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 Europe, 3 Countries 9 8.7 3.1-19.5

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 Mexico 9 1.3 NA

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 Middle East, 3 Countries 24 0.8 0.7-0.9

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 South America, 5 Countries 28 5.3 1.1-16.1

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Wilhelm et al. 2007 United States, 10 States 42 4.3 1.4-11.3

Combustion and Digestion Atomic 

Fluorescence

Environment Canada, 

2007 Canada 109 2.6 0.1-50

Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption and 

Fluorescence
1-16

Table 1-3. Trace Elements in Crude Oil

Reference Source As Pb Mn

Ni 

(ppm) Zn Co

V 

(ppm) Se Sb

Shah et al. 1970 U.S. California 379 194 27985 3344 679

Shah et al. 1970 Libya 191 77 49234 92 517

Shah et al. 1970 U.S. Louisiana 46 345 3571 29 26

Shah et al. 1970 U.S. Wyoming 111 113 6820 90 321

Raghavan et al. 1979 India 6-8

Ugarković and 

Premerl 1987 Moslavina 4.5-11

0.02-

2.5

Olajire and Oderinde 

1993 Nigeria < 0.2

10-

1400

2800-

6200 5.0-11 < 10 14-99

Stacy 1994 Venezuela 284 150 210 117 692 178 1100 303

Filby et al. 1994 U.S. Heavy Crude 20 92 94 162 355 276 15

Filby et al. 1994 U.S. Light Crude 12 10 170 61 2.8 120 28

Musa et al. 1995 Libya 133 3.3 353 7 1.9 6 317

Al-Swaidan 1996 Saudi Arabia, Heavy Crude 810 9.4 138

Al-Swaidan 1996

Saudi Arabia, Medium 

Crude 440 6.9 8.8

Al-Swaidan 1996 Saudi Arabia, Light Crude 300 3.1 11.3

Magaw et al. 1999 Several Countries 60 32 20 270 63 160 11

Note: Concentrations shown in table are in μg/kg (ppb) unless indicated otherwise (Ni, V).

Mercury and Trace Elements in Refined Petroleum Products

Mercury

Petroleum products resulting from the refining of crude oils commonly contain Hg compounds in various 

chemical forms. Since the early 1980s, several estimates of Hg in No. 2 distillate oil have been published, 

describing a wide range of concentrations. The USEPA (1981) estimated the concentration of Hg in No. 2 

oil as 400 ppb (μg/kg), and USEPA (1997b) estimated it as <120 ppb. Several studies have been released 

reporting levels well below these estimates. Liang et al. (1996) and Rising et al. (2004) reported values 

below one ppb (0.59 ppb and <0.2 ppb, respectively). Bloom (2000) found Hg concentrations of 1.32 ppb

(μg/kg) in all light distillates. In addition, total Hg levels in diesel fuel have been reported as high as 3.0 

μg/kg to as low as 0.034 μg/kg while the levels in gasoline have been found at 0.04 – 3.2 μg/kg (Liang et 

al. 1996; Kelly et al. 2003; Conaway et al. 2005). Table 1-4 below summarizes published estimates of Hg

in No. 2 fuel oil and other refined petroleum products.
1-17

 

Table 1-4. Mercury in Refined Petroleum Products.

Reference Fuel Type N Mean (μg/kg) Method

EPA 1997b No.2 Distillate Oil < 120

Liang et al. 1996 Heating oil 1 0.59 CVAFS

Bloom 2000 Light Distillates 14 1.32 CVAFS

Rising et al. 2004 Gas Turbine Fuel (No. 2) 13 < 0.2 ICP-MS

EPA 1997b Residual Fuel Oil 4

Bloom 2000 Utility Fuel Oil 21 0.67 CVAFS

Kelly et al. 2003 Residual Fuel Oil 5 3.46 IDCV-ICP-MS

Liang et al. 1996 Diesel (U.S.) 1 0.4 CVAFS

Liang et al. 1996 Diesel 1 2.97 CVAFS

Hoyer et al. 2004 Diesel 1 0.0050

Kelly et al. 2003 Diesel 6 0.034 IDCV-ICP-MS

Conaway et al. 2005 Diesel 19 0.15 CVAFS

Won et al. 2007 Diesel 0.219

Liang et al. 1996 Gasoline (U.S.) 5 0.22-1.43 CVAFS

Liang et al. 1996 Gasoline (Monaco) 2 0.72-0.96 CVAFS

Liang et al. 1996 Gasoline (Slovenia) 1 1.20 CVAFS

Liang et al. 1996 Gasoline (Algeria) 1 3.20 CVAFS

Hoyer et al. 2004 Gasoline 3 0.071-0.259

Conaway et al. 2005 Gasoline 20 0.5 CVAFS

Won et al. 2007 Gasoline 0.781

Liang et al. 1996 Kerosene 1 0.04 CVAFS

Oslen et al. 1997 Naphtha 4 15 ICP-MS

Tao et al. 1998 Naphtha 3 40 ICP-MS

Trace Elements 

While several studies have examined levels of trace elements in crude oil, information is sparse on the 

levels of these compounds in refined products, and is tabulated in Table 1-5. Rising et al. (2004) collected 

No. 2 distillate oil samples from gas turbine installations in 10 U.S. states and analyzed the samples by 

ICP-MS. They reported mean concentrations of 15.0 ppb for lead, 28.9 ppb for nickel, and 5.5 ppb for 

manganese. Levels of arsenic and cadmium were reported at below the detection limit, 0.9 and 0.1 ppb, 

respectively. Heathcote et al. (2000) examined the levels of nine elements in motor-vehicle fuels using ICPMS. The analysis found concentrations in No. 2 diesel of 0.3 to 5.3 ppb for lead, below the detection limit 

of 2.0 ppb for nickel, 0.7 to 6.5 ppb for vanadium, below the detection limit of 2.0 ppb for manganese, and 

5.1 to 12.7 ppb for zinc. Olajire and Oderinde (1993) found that the trace element concentrations in heavy 

distillate were close to the levels in crude oil (Table 1-3). The reason for high Ni and V concentrations in 

the light gas oil measured by Ugarković and Premerl (1987) is unknown.
1-18

Table 1-5. Trace Elements in Refined Petroleum Products.

Reference Fuel type As Pb Mn Ni Zn Co V Se Sb

Ugarković and 

Premerl 1987 

(Moslavina)

Light gas oil

2.0 

(ppm)

0.15 

(ppm)

Ugarković and 

Premerl 1987 

(Moslavina)

Heavy gas oil

1.8 

(ppm)

0.3 

(ppm)

Olajire and Oderinde 

1993 (Nigeria) Heavy distillate < 0.2 10-1120

2.4-

3.8 

(ppm)

5.5-11 

(ppm)

< 10

14-99 

(ppm)

Heathcote et al. 2000 

(U.S.) 

Diesel 0.3-5.3 < 2.0 < 2.0

5.1-

12.7

0.7-

6.5

1.4

Rising et al. 2004 No. 2 fuel oil < 0.9 15.0 5.5 28.9 < 5

Note: Concentrations shown in table are in μg/kg (ppb) unless indicated otherwise.

Mercury and Trace Elements in Natural Gas

Mercury

In natural gas, the elemental form of Hg is predominant. The organic form is rarely detected while trace 

amounts of dimethylmercury have been reported (USEPA 2001). Mercury concentrations in natural gas 

vary geologically from 0 to > 300 μg/N m3

, where ‘N’ means normal conditions corresponding to standard 

pressure and temperature. Table 1-6 lists the average Hg content measured in natural gas in different 

regions in the world. Some of the highest concentrations occur in Southeast Asia, e.g., Indonesia and the 

Gulf of Thailand. Some high Hg level gas fields are also found in Europe. 

Because Hg can cause corrosion of aluminum structures and damage catalytic processes that have led to 

expensive plant shut downs (Kinney 1975), many gas processing plants employ Hg removal processes 

consisting of adsorbents specific to Hg. The Hg removal processes are particularly important if the feeds 

contain high levels of Hg, if aluminum heat exchangers are used, or if downstream customers have Hg

specifications. Mercury removal is required on almost all liquefied natural gas plants as the low 

temperatures they operate under usually condenses Hg (USEPA 2001). Abu El Ela et al. (2006) described 

Hg levels in natural gas before and after installation of Hg removal equipment at an Egyptian gas plant. 

They reported Hg concentrations in natural gas ranging between 17 and 71 μg/N m3 before removal and 

between 0.53 and 0.92 μg/N m3 after removal.
1-19

Table 1-6. Total Mercury in Natural Gas and Gas Condensate

Reference Location

Natural Gas 

μg/N m3

Gas 

Condensate

μg/kg

Attari and Chao 1993 U.S. <0.2

Bingham 1990;

Gijselman 1991 Netherlands 0-300

Muchlis 1981;

Situmorang and 

Muchlis 1986

Indonesian 180-300

Hennico et al. 1991 Middle East <50

Hennico et al. 1991 South Africa 100

Hennico et al. 1991 Far East 50-300

Ryzhov et al. 2003 Russia 1.2-47

Abu El Ela et al. 2006 Egypt 17-71

Abu El Ela et al. 2006 Egypt (outlet) 0.53-0.92

Abu El Ela et al. 2006 South America 50-120 50-100

Abu El Ela et al. 2006 Gulf of Thailand 100-400 400-1200

Abu El Ela et al. 2006 North Africa 50-80 20-50

Shafawi et al. 1999 Unknown 10-74

Tao et al. 1998 Unknown 18.1-256

Zettlitzer et al. 1997 North German 4000-9000

Sarrazin et al. 1993 Unknown 10-3000

Wilhelm 2001 U.S. oil refineries <10

Won et al. 2007 Vehicle LPG 1.82

For natural gas condensate, the average Hg contents also vary in different regions in the world as listed in Table 1-6. 

Several authors provided more detailed information. Shafawi et al. (1999) examined Hg levels in five commercially 

available natural gas condensates using atomic fluorescence spectrometry. They reported Hg levels of 7-50 μg/l (10-

74 μg/kg) in the gas condensates from a variety of organic, inorganic, and elemental forms. Tao et al. (1998) looked 

at Hg speciation in natural gas condensate using GC-ICP-MS and identified five species of Hg in gas condensates – 

elemental Hg, mercury chloride, dimethylmercury, methylethylmercury, and diethylmercury.

Other Hazardous Trace Elements

Arsenic was studied more intensively than other trace elements partly due to its extreme toxic effects on 

humans and wildlife and partly due to it being a catalyst poison like Hg and sulfur. It exists in natural gas 

predominantly in the form of trialkylarsines, including trimethylarsine (As(CH3) 3, the major component), 

dimethylethylarsine, methyldiethylarsine, and triethylarsine (Bouyssiere et al. 2001; Trahan 2008). As Hg, 

arsenic content in natural gas varies geographically. Delgado-Morales et al. (1994) reported that natural gas 

from a field in southeastern New Mexico contained arsenic at concentrations of 200 to 2500 μg/m3 in the form 

of trialkylarsines. Irgolic et al. (1991) examined arsenic compounds in natural gas using hydride generation 

and GC-MS detection. They found a wide range of concentrations from several wells at multiple gas fields, 

reporting a range of 10 to 63000 μg/m3 total arsenic. They also noted that this estimate may be low due to the 

use of aluminum canisters when collecting the gas samples. The same investigators also determined natural 
1-20

gas concentrations from four gas wells using GC-MS. They found that total arsenic concentrations ranged 

from 21 to 217 μg/m3 across the four wells. It was found that 55% to 80% of the arsenic was in the form of 

trimethylarsine and an additional 5% to 10% were from other forms of trialkylarsines. Attari and Chao (1993) 

reported total arsenic concentrations of less than five μg/m3 in the United States. We note that arsenic removal 

facilities have been applied at gas wells with high arsenic concentrations. Newpoint Gas (2007) reported an 

ability to reduce arsenic concentrations from 1200 μg/m3 to < 10 μg/m3

. 

Limited information on trace element levels other than arsenic in natural gas was found. Häsänen et al. 

(1986) reported that trace elements were not released in significant amounts in the combustion of natural 

gas. They examined emissions of SO2, NOx, Pb, Cd, Hg, Be, V, Ni, Cr, Mn, Zn, As, Co, Mo, U, Th, and 

210Po from combustion of peat, coal, heavy fuel oil, and natural gas. They concluded that the only 

significant emission from combustion of natural gas was NOx. Schmidt (1998) examined lead precipitates 

in natural gas, noting that the first estimates of lead in natural gas were made in 1975 where average 

concentrations of 1 μg/m3 were reported in gases from fields in northwest Germany. Therefore, it was 

postulated that the trace element’s concentrations in sales natural gas was relatively low.

Mercury and Trace Elements in Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) 

There is very limited public information on Hg and other trace elements in liquid petroleum gas (LPG – a gas 

condensate comprised of propane and/or butane). Wilhelm (2001) estimated that the Hg content in LPG used onsite at refineries is less than 10 ppb. Won et al. (2007) reported a Hg content of 1.23 μg/l (~3 ppb) in vehicle LPG.

Current Emission Factors for Mercury and Trace Elements

According to the USEPA (1997b), the emission factor for No. 2 distillate oil is 0.86 lb/106

 gallon, which 

roughly corresponds to Hg content of 120 μg/kg (ppb), which assumes 100% of the Hg is emitted to air

from oil combustion. However, the Hg content used in the calculation of this emission factor is not likely 

representative of most No. 2 fuels. The more recent studies identified in this report have measured levels 

typically much lower than this, with estimates of the Hg content in No. 2 oil at around 1 ppb. Other 

estimates of Hg emission factors in fuel oil can be found in Table 1-7. 

The Hg content for each emission factor is listed for comparison with Table 1-4. As is evident, the Hg contents 

implicit in the USEPA emission factors are much higher than the more recent studies. The emission factors for 

No. 6 residual oil and the corresponding Hg content found in different studies are also listed for reference. 

The Hg emission factor for natural gas combustion is 2.6E-04 (lb/106 scf) in AP-42 (USEPA 1998). The 

corresponding Hg content is 4.40 (μg/N m3

).3

 

3 To convert from the emission factor (EF) in lb/106 scf to mercury content (MC) in μg/N m3 for natural gas, 1 lb = 454 

grams (g), and 1 scf = 0.026853 N m3 are used. The standard temperature and pressure corresponding to normal cubic 

meters (N m3) are 0°C (273.15 K) and 101.325 kPa (1atm), while they are 60°F and 1 atm for standard cubic feet (scf). 

MC = EF * 454 (g/lb)/0.026853 (N m3

/scf) * 1.0E6 μg/g. 

This value is likely to be close to the Hg content of most 
1-21

natural gas consumed in the United States. As described previously, due to the low Hg concentrations in 

natural gas produced domestically in the United States and the removal of Hg at the natural gas processing 

plant, the Hg content in sales natural gas in the United States is likely to be around one ppb.

Table 1-7. Reported Mercury Emission Factors for Distillate and Residual Oils

Reference #2 Distillate Oil #6 Residual Oil

Emission factor 

lb/106 gallon

Hg content 

ppb

Emission Factor 

lb/106 gallon

Hg content 

ppb 

USEPA Hg Report to Congress1997a 0.96 136 0.93 118

USEPA L&E Report 1997b 0.86 120 0.033 4.2

USEPA AP-42 1998 0.42 60 0. 113 14

NHDES 2003 0.013 1.4 0.025 3.2

Note: To convert from lb/106 gal to ppb, the density of #2 distillate oil is assumed to be 7.05 lb/gal, and the density of 

#6 residual oil is assumed to be 7.9 lb/gal.

Table 1-8 lists emission factors for trace elements from distillate fuel oil and natural gas combustions as 

contained in AP-42 (USEPA 1998). For distillate oil, the trace element contents assumed in the emission 

factors are much higher than the recently reported estimates as listed in Table 1-5. On the other hand, the 

emission factors from natural gas combustion seem reasonable from the limited information collected for 

this report. The emission factors from residual oil combustion are also listed in Table 1-8 for comparison. 

As expected, the emission factors for trace elements for residual oil are higher than distillate oil due to the 

low volatility of these elements. As such, the emission factors for Sb, Co and V, available only for residual 

fuel oil in AP-42, can be regarded as the upper limits for distillate oil.

Table 1-8. Emission Factors of Trace Elements for Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils and Natural Gas. 

Emission factor Emission factor Emission factor Emission factor Emission factor Emission factor

lb/106 gal lb/MMBtu lb/106 gal lb/MMBtu lb/106 scf lb/MMBtu

V n/a n/a 31.8 2.12E-04 2.3E-03 2.2E-06

Mn 0.83 6.E-06 3 2.E-05 3.8E-04 3.7E-07

Co n/a n/a 6.02 4.02E-05 8.4E-05 8.2E-08

Ni 0.42 3.E-06 84.5 5.64E-04 2.1E-03 2.0E-06

Zn 0.56 4.E-06 29.1 1.94E-04 2.9E-02 2.8E-05

As 0.56 4.E-06 1.32 8.82E-06 2.0E-04 1.9E-07

Se 2.08 1.5E-05 0.683 4.56E-06 <2.4E-05 <2.3E-08

Sb n/a n/a 5.25 3.51E-05 n/a n/a

Hg 0.42 3.E-06 0.113 7.55E-07 2.6E-04 2.5E-07

Pb 1.25 9.E-06 1.51 1.01E-05 5.0E-04 4.9E-07

#2 Distillate Oil #6 Residual Oil Natural Gas Trace 

Element

Source: AP-42, USEPA 1998.
1-22

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SECTION 2

Fuel Oil Analytical Methods

Analysis of fuel oils was performed by a certified and accredited testing laboratory (Intertek Caleb Brett) 

under contract to NESCAUM. The testing was done in two phases. The initial phase (Phase I) covered 

three months and focused on determining the levels of mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), 

zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), sulfur (S) and manganese (Mn) in primarily No. 2 home 

heating oil as well as a small set of ultra-low-sulfur and nonroad diesel samples. The structure of the second 

phase (Phase II) was based on results obtained from Phase I and extended for about a year after Phase I.

A subset of the home heating samples was analyzed for Hg by cold vapor atomic absorption as an 

independent measurement. In addition, sulfur content of the fuels was tested using X-ray fluorescence if the 

distributors were not already performing those tests. 

Additional details on the methods, procedures, and locations of the two sampling phases are described in 

the following sections.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) Analytical Methods for Mercury and Other 

Trace Elements

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a type of mass spectrometry that is highly 

sensitive and capable of detecting and quantifying a range of metals and several non-metals at 

concentrations in the parts per billion range and below (Ammann 2007). A nebulizer sample droplet is 

introduced into a charged plasma created at high temperature (~10,000 C) within the instrument. The 

sample droplet and any solids within it vaporize at the high temperatures within the plasma, and break 

down into atoms. The plasma temperature is also sufficiently high enough to ionize an atom after 

vaporization into a singly charged ion with the loss of its most loosely bound electron. The positively 

charged ion is then passed through a mass spectrometer (typically a mass quadrupole) where trace element 

ions can be discriminated according to their mass and then electronically detected, with the detection signal 

proportional to the concentration of the atomic species in the sample droplet.

ICP-MS method for No. 2 home heating oil and diesels. The analytical method for No. 2 home heating 

oil and the diesel grades was ITM_1051, Intertek Caleb Brett’s standard method for ICP-MS analysis by 

dilution in an organic matrix. Under the ITM_1051 method, the samples are diluted with semi-conductor 

grade xylenes at a minimum dilution of 1:10 for analyzing by ICP-MS. Sample introduction is by selfaspirating perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) nebulizer. Calibration standards are also prepared in xylenes from 

organometallic standards. Calibration ranges vary by element and expected result, but are usually in the 0-

25 ppb range using a four-point curve, including a calibration blank. Minimum linearity for acceptance is 

r

2 >= 0.995. A check standard is run before and after every sample set with ± 20% the accepted value 

required. A sample blank is prepared with the samples and is run with the samples. The sample blank value 
2-2

must be less than the minimum detection limit (MDL) for the data to be used. A minimum of one sample 

per ten is run in duplicate with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the duplicate samples required to be 

less than 20% for any result higher than the MDL. A hydrogen (H2) reaction cell is used to eliminate 

interferences for problematic elements.

For samples where the dilution is less than 1:10, the standard additions technique must be applied. A series 

of three sample spikes are run with an unspiked sample, all at the desired dilution and these data are used to 

generate a standard additions curve and result. The result is cross-checked by converting the standard curve 

to an external calibration, which is then applied to a spiked sample with the calculated spike recovery 

required to be 70-130% for acceptance. If multiple samples are being run with the same curve, each sample 

is run with a spiked sample so that recoveries can be used to qualify the additions curve as acceptable for 

other samples in the set. If spike recovery is inadequate, a separate additions curve must be generated using 

that specific sample.

The minimum detection limits for the trace elements investigated by the ICP-MS technique for No. 2 

heating oil and the diesel grades are shown in Table 2-1. 

Table 2-1. ICP-MS Minimum Detection Limits for Trace Elements in No. 2 Heating Oil and Diesels

Element ppb

As 1 

Co 6

Hg 2

Mn 5

Ni 3 

Pb 4

Sb 10

Se 5

V 4 

Zn 6

ICP-MS method for No. 6 fuel oil. Because No. 6 fuel oil is relatively heavy, it is more difficult to run a 

trace element analysis by simple dilution as with No. 2 home heating oil and the diesel grades. To prepare a 

sample appropriate for analysis required a preliminary digestion step before analysis by ICP-MS, which is 

Intertek Caleb Brett’s method ITM_1052. The ITM_1052 method covers eight different digestion 

techniques depending on analytical need. If samples require charring with sulfuric acid first, this is done in 

a closed vessel so that volatiles are not lost. The addition of sulfuric acid can interfere with the Zn results, 

which can be largely avoided by employing a helium collision cell.
2-3

After digestion, the samples are run by ICP-MS. Calibration is by four-point curve using standards 

prepared from commercially available multi-element aqueous standards. Minimum linearity for acceptance 

is r2 >= 0.995. An independent check standard is run before and after every sample set with ± 20% the 

accepted value required. A sample blank is prepared with the samples and is run with the samples. The 

sample blank value must be less than the MDL for the data to be used. Minimum of one sample per ten is 

run in duplicate with the RSD of the duplicate samples required to be less than 20% for any result higher 

than the MDL. A minimum of one sample in ten has a spiked sample prepared with a measured recover of 

70-130% required to validate the analysis. A H2 reaction cell is used to eliminate interferences for 

problematic elements.

The minimum detection limits for the trace elements investigated by the ICP-MS technique for No. 6 fuel

oil are given in Table 2-2. Note that the MDLs for No. 6 fuel oil are higher than that of No. 2 heating oil 

and the diesel grades.

Table 2-2. ICP-MS Minimum Detection Limits for Trace Elements in No. 6 Fuel Oil

Element ppb

As 20

Co 10

Hg 25

Mn 10

Ni 25

Pb 10

Sb 30

Se 100

V 10

Zn 125

Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Analytical Method for Mercury

Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption (CVAA) is a more sensitive method for detecting Hg than the ICP-MS 

method, with a Hg detection limit of 1 ppb for all fuel oil types tested in this study. CVAA is an optical 

technique that measures the absorption of atomic elemental Hg entrained in a gas flow within the 

instrument. The fuel oil samples were treated according to a combustion-amalgamation process given by 

Universal Oil Products (UOP) Method UOP 938.

X-ray Fluorescence Analytical Methods for Sulfur

Sulfur concentrations in conventional No. 2 home heating oil and off-road diesel were obtained by energydispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry according to ASTM Method D4294 (ASTM International
2-4

2003). This method is typically applied to a concentration range of 0.0150 to 5.00 mass % sulfur in fuel 

oils. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (on-road diesel and biodiesel) was analyzed using wavelength dispersive X-ray 

fluorescence spectrometry according to ASTM Method D2622 (ASTM International 2005).

Fuel Oil Sampling

The project began sampling in February 2008 and continued collection until November 2009, 

encompassing, in part, three different heating seasons and one full calendar year. Home heating oil 

represented the majority of samples, with limited numbers of on-road diesel, biodiesel, and residual fuel 

samples.

Oil samples were shipped to the Intertek Caleb Brett laboratory in Deer Park, TX for analysis. Sample 

chain of custody was maintained so that metals analyses and sulfur results could be tracked to each sample. 

Sample treatment and analysis followed the Intertek Caleb Brett in-house standard operating procedures.

Sample collection sites included terminals in Albany, the Bronx, and Long Island, NY; and Revere and 

Quincy, MA. Samples were collected by Intertek Caleb Brett field staff who had received training in 

industry standard operating procedures prior to sample collection. A total of 137 fuel samples were 

collected for analysis, along with another 36 duplicate samples, where a duplicate sample refers to a sample 

taken from the same storage tank, but collected, shipped, and analyzed separately. The samples included 95 

home heating oil, 7 high sulfur diesel, 11 ultra-low-sulfur diesel, 8 biodiesel, and 16 residual oil samples. 

The terminals sampled by Intertek Caleb Brett for No. 2 home heating oil are given in Table 2-3 and the 

locations for No. 6 fuel oil and diesels are given in Table 2-4. 

Table 2-3. Sampling Locations for No. 2 Home Heating Oil

Location Distributor Terminal

No. 2

Albany, NY

Sprague Sprague – Albany

Global Global – Albany

Boston, MA

Global Global – Revere

Irving Irving – Revere

Boston, MA Sprague Sprague – Quincy

Long Island, NY

Sprague Sprague – Oceanside 

Global Global –Long Island Terminals

Brooklyn, NY Global Global – Brooklyn Metro
2-5

Table 2-4. Sampling Locations for No. 6 Fuel Oil and Diesel

Location Distributor Terminal

No. 6 

New York, NY Sprague Sprague – Stuyvesant-Bronx

Boston, MA Global Global – Chelsea

Biodiesel 

New Jersey Sprague Sprague – Elizabeth, NJ

Ultra-Low Diesel

New York, NY Sprague Sprague – Stuyvesant-Bronx

Nonroad Diesel

New York, NY Sprague Sprague – Stuyvesant-Bronx
2-6

REFERENCES

Ammann, A.A. 2007. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP MS): a Versatile Tool. Journal 

of Mass Spectrometry. 42: 419-427. 

ASTM International. 2003. Method D4294–03: Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum and 

Petroleum Products by Energy-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry. ASTM International. 

West Conshohocken, PA. 

ASTM International. 2005. Method D2622-05: Standard Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products by 

Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry. ASTM International. West 

Conshohocken, PA. 
3-1

SECTION 3

Results for Trace Element Content in Distillates and Residual Oil

Sample Reproducibility

In order to validate the analysis results, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) checks must be 

followed. As described in Section 2, Intertek Caleb Brett followed procedures to test and verify the 

performance of its laboratory instrumentation. In addition, duplicate samples were collected to verify the 

collection and storage procedures. A total of 36 duplicate samples (34 distillate oil, one ultra-low-sulfur 

diesel, and one residual fuel oil) were drawn from the same storage tank but collected, shipped, and 

analyzed separately from the original samples. Table 3-1 shows the comparison of the trace element 

concentrations of the duplicate samples (distillate and diesel) with the corresponding original sample.

Table 3-1. Sulfur and Trace Element Analysis Comparison for 35 Distillate/Diesel Duplicate Samples

Note: No paired samples were tested for antimony (Sb).

Unlike the residual fuel oil samples, many of the trace element concentrations in the distillate oil and diesel 

samples were below the method detection limit (MDL). The MDL for each trace element by ICP-MS was 

provided in Table 2-1 and Table 2-2. In all samples used in this duplicate comparison, the trace metal 

concentration of cobalt and lead were below the MDL, and for this reason, all 35 sample pairs were 

determined to have the same trace element concentration. Therefore, the percent difference between the 

cobalt/lead concentration for each duplicate and original sample is 0%. On the other end, all 35 pairs of 

samples had detectable amounts of sulfur; while only eight of the pairs had the same exact sulfur 

concentration, the average percent difference is only 1.1%. Zinc has the highest average percent difference 

for the duplicate samples at 30.7%. Overall, the duplicate samples indicate that the trace element 

concentrations are reproducible. The slight differences shown here are expected given some inhomogeneity 

of the storage tanks.

Assessment of Trace Element Relationships with Sulfur Content

For this project, samples of varying sulfur content (from ultra-low-sulfur diesel to residual fuel oil) were 

purposely collected and analyzed. The intent behind this approach was to be able to assess if there are any 

relationships between the sulfur content of refined petroleum products and the trace element 

concentrations. Figure 3-1 displays the trace element concentration (only those with detectable 

concentrations) versus the sulfur content of the sample. The distillate oil and diesel samples are represented 

by circles, and the residual fuel oil samples are represented by triangles.

S V Mn Co Ni Zn As Se Pb Hg

Average Percent Difference 1.1% 0.0% 6.2% 0.0% 8.0% 30.7% 18.7% 10.1% 0.0% 11.0%

Median Percent Difference 0.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 12.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Pairs with Same Conc. 8 35 31 35 27 11 25 23 35 31

Pairs with Measurable Conc. 35 7 5 0 15 19 26 19 0 1
3-2

Figure 3-1. Trace Element Concentration versus Sulfur Content in Fuel Samples. 

Figure 3-1 shows that there is no strong relationship between the concentration of any trace element and the 

sulfur content of the fuel sample. Instead, the figure best illustrates the differences between the residual fuel 

oil and the distillate oil/diesel samples. In general, the trace element concentrations in residual fuel oil are 

at least an order of magnitude higher than in distillate heating oil and diesel. Mercury is the exception, as it 

was below the ICP-MS minimum detection level (MDL) in all the residual fuel oil samples. Although the 

Hg content was not detectable in most samples, the ICP-MS MDL for Hg in residual fuel oil was higher 

(25 ppb vs. 2 ppb) than in distillate oil (see Table 2-1 and Table 2-2), and none of the residual oil samples 

had detectable Hg levels by ICP-MS. Based on the refining method (where residual fuel oil is the 

remaining crude oil after the other fuel types are distilled off), it is reasonable to expect that the 

concentrations for these trace elements would be higher in residual fuel oils than in distillate oils. Mercury, 

being more volatile, could possibly distill out of the residual fuel oil, while the other trace elements tend to 

remain behind.

DETERMINATION OF EMISSION FACTORS

Trace Element Concentrations by Fuel Type

Table 3-2 and Table 3-3 summarize the analytical results, according to fuel type. The elements in Table 3-2

were those most frequently found in the samples, whereas the concentrations of the elements included in 

1

10

100

1000

10000

100000

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Sulfur Concentration (ppm)

Trace Element Concentration (ppb)

Distillate/Diesel

Residual

V Mn Co Ni Zn As Se Pb Hg

1

10

100

1000

10000

100000

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Sulfur Concentration (ppm)

Trace Element Concentration (ppb)

Distillate/Diesel

Residual

V Mn Co Ni Zn As Se Pb Hg
3-3

Table 3-3 were more likely to be below the MDL. Table 3-3 also includes the Hg concentrations, as 

measured by the more sensitive CVAA technique.

Table 3-2. Analytical Results of Trace Elements by ICP-MS

Notes: Units are given in ppb except for S, which is in ppm. Parentheticals in the table represent the number of samples 

with that measurement or that were used to create the value. Averages and medians were not determined when a low 

percentage of samples above the detection limit were recorded. Elements not detected in any samples are listed as ND 

in the maximum row.

* Averages calculated by substituting half MDL values for samples with undetectable levels.

In these tables, the quantity in parenthesis represents the number of samples with that measurement or, in 

the case of determining averages, the number of samples used in the calculation. The tables show that a 

significant number of home heating/diesel, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, and biodiesel samples have trace 

element (excluding sulfur) concentrations below the MDL. For example, less than 50% of the distillate oil 

samples had detectable amounts (>3 ppb) of nickel by ICP-MS. Also, no distillate samples recorded cobalt 

or antimony levels above instrument detection limits, whereas they were measured in residual oil at 

relatively high concentrations. Averages marked by an asterisk (*) were calculated using half of the MDL 

as substitutes for samples with unquantifiable concentrations.

Type (n) Metric S Ni Zn As Se Hg

maximum 2899 9 66 10 11 13

minimum 807 <3 (54) <6 (35) <1 (25) <5 (18) <2 (72)

average 1998 3.2* 14.8* 2.1* 4.3* (75) 2.0*

median 1920 <3 17 2.0 7.0 <2

maximum 3860 22600 4960 523 197 ND

minimum 2780 11900 813 <20 (8) <125 (4) <25 (16)

average 3020 16988 1963 172* 119*

median 2970 16650 1810 35 125

maximum 8 6 64 ND 5 (1) 4

minimum <3 (1) <3 (8) 6 <1 (11) <5 (8) <2 (9)

average 5.6 24

median 5 19

maximum 84 5 50 1 ND ND

minimum 4 <3 (6) <6 (1) <1 (7) <5 (8) <2 (8)

average 27.3* 22.5*

median 30.5 27

Home 

Heating/ 

Diesel 

(102)

Residual 

(16)

Ultra-low 

Sulfur (11)

Bio-diesel 

(8)
3-4

Table 3-3. Analytical Results of Trace Elements by ICP-MS and Hg by CVAA

Notes: Units are given in ppb. Parentheticals in the table represent the number of samples with that measurement or that 

were used to create the value. Averages and medians were not determined when a low percentage of samples above the 

detection limit were recorded. Elements not detected in any samples are listed as ND in the maximum row.

*Averages calculated by substituting half MDL values for samples with undetectable levels.

As was illustrated in Figure 3-1, Table 3-2 and Table 3-3 show that the trace element content for all 

species, except Hg, are higher in residual fuel oils than in distillate oil and diesel fuels. In comparing the 

two analytical approaches for Hg measurements, Hg was detected in just over 25% of the distillate oil 

samples by ICP-MS, whereas it was measured in over 80% of the samples using the CVAA technique. By 

substituting half of the MDL for samples without measurable levels, the average concentration of 2 ppb 

agrees for both methods. As mentioned, none of the residual oil samples had detectable Hg levels by ICPMS. Of the three residual oil samples measured by CVAA, an average of 1.3 ppb was calculated.

Comparison of Emission Factors

Table 3-4 provides the emission factors of trace elements for distillate and residual fuel oils based upon the 

average concentrations measured in this work.

Type (n) Metric V Mn Co Sb Pb Hg

maximum 20 114 ND ND 144 5.5

minimum <4 (85) <5 (55) <6 (102) <10 (27) <6 (99) <1 (3)

average 1.9*

median 2

maximum 8940 4870 1650 16900 603 2

minimum 849 1820 697 3880 <10 (2) 1

average 2967 2851 1113 8873 (6) 188* 1.3 (3)

median 2105 2755 1145 6930 181 1

maximum ND 5 ND ND ND

minimum <4 (11) <5 (10) <6 (11) <10 (2) <4 (11) <1 (1)

average

median

maximum ND 8 ND

minimum <4 (8) <5 (7) <6 (8) (0) <4 (8) (0)

average

median

Home 

Heating/ 

Diesel 

(102)

Residual 

(16)

Ultra-low 

Sulfur (11)

Bio-diesel 

(8)
3-5

Table 3-4. Emission Factors of Trace Elements for Distillate and Residual Fuel Oils

Figure 3-2 and Figure 3-3 compare the trace element concentrations determined in this work with the 

concentrations based upon the emission factors provided in AP-42 for distillate heating oil and residual fuel 

oil, respectively (see also Table 3-6). The black bar represents the maximum measured value and the gray 

bar represents the minimum value (most often half of the MDL). The green diamond and blue bar represent 

the average and median values based on the samples measured in this study. The red bars indicate the trace 

element concentrations according to the AP-42 emission factors.

For home heating oil, Figure 3-2 illustrates that the trace elemental content based on the information 

provided in AP-42 exceeds the average measured concentration by almost an order of magnitude or more. 

With the slight exception of Mn, the AP-42 concentrations are all greater than the maximum recorded 

levels. Because the maximum emission from the combustion of fuel cannot exceed the trace element 

concentration in the fuel, using the AP-42 emission factors would clearly overestimate the trace element 

emissions from these in-use distillate oil samples. Even using the average measurement concentrations 

would represent an upper bound of emissions, because it assumes that all the trace elements are completely 

emitted during combustion.

Figure 3-3 illustrates better agreement between the measured concentrations and those derived from AP-42 

emission factors for trace elements in residual fuel oils. For most elements, the AP-42 derived 

concentrations fall within the range of measured concentrations. The measured average concentration for 

Pb and As aligns favorably with the emission factor estimate. Still, for Ni, Sb, and Mn, the AP-42 

concentration is lower for the measured range. As is the case with distillate oils, the AP-42 concentration 

for Hg is significantly higher than the concentrations measured in the residual oil samples. Based on this 

work, the average concentration of Hg for both No. 2 and No. 6 fuel oils is 2 ppb. According to AP-42, the 

inferred Hg concentrations are 60 ppb and 14 ppb, respectively; therefore, using the AP-42 factors would 

overestimate the Hg emissions by factors of 30 and 7 for the combustion of these fuels.

Emission Factor Concentration Emission Factor Concentration

lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb

As 0.0147 2.1 1.36 172

Pb 1.49 188

Mn 22.5 2851

Ni 0.0224 3.2 134 16,988

Zn 0.104 14.8 15.5 1,963

Co 8.79 1113

V 23.4 2,967

Hg 0.014 2.0 0.016 2

Se 0.0303 4.3 0.945 119

#2 Distillate Oil #6 Residual Oil Trace 

Element
3-6

Figure 3-2. Comparison of Measured Elemental Concentrations and Concentrations from AP-42 

Emission Factors: Distillate Oil.

Analysis of biodiesel constitutes one novel result for this study as this fuel represents an emerging market. 

Based on the results, this fuel appears to have similar composition to ultra-low-sulfur diesel with trace 

elemental composition at or below that determined for home heating oil. The sulfur level in biodiesel, 

however, appears on average to be higher (27.3 ppm) than ultra-low-sulfur diesel (5.6 ppm), although the 

small number of samples (eight) may not be representative. A study on sulfur levels in biodiesel derived 

from a wide range of feedstocks (vegetable oils, grease, and animal fats) indicated that sulfur levels in at 

least some biodiesel feedstocks are relatively high compared to ultra-low-sulfur diesel (≤ 15 ppm), 

depending on growing conditions or processing. As such, biodiesel in and of itself may not necessarily 

meet ultra-low-sulfur diesel requirements (Thompson and He 2006; He and Van Gerpen 2008). Biodiesel 

certification as a low sulfur fuel is possible, with the biodiesel industry having developed a voluntary fuel 

accreditation program called BQ-9000 that includes certification testing for 15 ppm (as well as 500 ppm) 

sulfur content in pure (100%) biodiesel (National Biodiesel Board 2008). Accreditation under the BQ-9000 

program requires that the fuel must meet the biodiesel certification levels established by the industry 

1

10

100

1000

Ni Zn As Se Hg Mn Pb

Concentration (ppb)

maximum

average

median

minimum

#2 EF
3-7

standard method ASTM D6751 (ASTM International 2010a). In addition, the October 2008 revisions to the 

ASTM International specifications for diesel fuels (ASTM D975-08a) and fuel oils used for home heating 

and boiler applications (ASTM D396-08b) include the same requirements for blends up to 5% biodiesel 

(ASTM International 2009; ASTM International 2010b). These bioblends must meet the same regulations 

as their non-blended counterparts. 

Figure 3-3. Comparison of Measured Trace Element Concentrations and Concentrations from AP-42 

Emission Factors: Residual Oil.

Revision of 2002 New York State Mercury Emissions Inventory

In order to illustrate the impact that the results from this work have on emissions inventory data, we 

revisited the 2002 Hg inventory for New York State. NESCAUM previously updated a baseline 1996 

anthropogenic Hg emissions inventory for the northeast states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) to the year 2002 (NESCAUM 2005). In 

the 2002 inventory, the AP-42 emission factors were employed to estimate the emissions from the oil 

1

10

100

1000

10000

100000

Ni V Zn Co Sb Mn Pb As Se Hg

Concentration (ppb)

maximum

average

median

minimum

#6 EF
3-8

combustion source categories, including industrial/commercial/institutional (ICI) oil-fired boilers, electric 

utility oil-fired boilers, and residential heating from distillate heating oil. 

The original 2002 inventory for New York State can be revised by adjusting the Hg emissions by factors of 

30 or 7, depending upon the fuel type, based on the results of fuel sampling described in this report. For the

adjustments, it was assumed that all of the fuel used by electric utility boilers is residual, that all of the fuel 

used in residential heating is distillate, and that the fuel combusted by ICI oil-fired boilers (note that EIA 

classifies apartment buildings as commercial) is 75% distillate and 25% residual. Figure 3-4 displays the 

percent each general source category represents of the entire 2002 New York State inventory before and 

after the revisions. 

When adjusting the 2002 New York State inventory estimates using the emission factors determined in this 

work, the contributions of residential heating and ICI boilers to the overall state-wide Hg emissions drop 

from 15% and 7%, respectively, to only 1%. These adjustments make the contributions from the other 

source categories relatively more significant; for example, the emissions from sewage sludge incineration 

represent 20% of the entire inventory rather than 15% after the revisions. Municipal waste combustors 

continue to contribute the largest share of Hg air emissions in New York State, increasing from 27% to 

34% of total state-wide emissions when the fuel oil combustion contributions are adjusted to reflect the 

observed lower Hg content in fuel oil. Note that although the emission estimate of oil-fired electric utility 

boilers was adjusted, the majority of Hg emissions from electric utility boilers in New York State are from 

coal-fired boilers, so the total contribution from all electric utility boilers actually becomes more significant 

after the revisions. 

Figure 3-4. General Source Category Contributions to the 2002 New York State Anthropogenic 

Mercury Emissions Inventory.

Municipal Waste 

Combustors

27%

Sewage Sludge 

Incinerators

15%

Medical Waste 

Incinerators

1%

ICI Boilers Total 

7%

Electric Utility 

Boilers Total

26%

Total 

Manufacturing 

Sources

4%

Residential 

Heating

15%

Industrial 

Processes

5%

Municipal Waste 

Combustors

34%

Sewage Sludge 

Incinerators

20%

Medical Waste 

Incinerators

1%

ICI Boilers Total 

1%

Electric Utility 

Boilers Total

31%

Total 

Manufacturing 

Sources

5%

Residential 

Heating

1%

Industrial 

Processes

7%

Original Inventory 

(1829 kg)

Revised Inventory 

(1423 kg)
3-9

Estimated Reductions in New York State Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Based on Ultra-Low-Sulfur-Fuel

As discussed in Section 1, New York State recently passed legislation establishing an ultra-low-sulfur 

(15 ppm) fuel standard for No. 2 home heating oil by July 2012. By examining the New York’s new 

requirement relative to a recent state SO2 emissions inventory, the projected impact of the new law can be 

quantified. According to the USEPA’s 2005 National Emissions Inventory (NEI), a total of 34,814 short 

tons of SO2 (~9% of the total state inventory) were attributed to residential fossil fuel combustion in New 

York State in 2005 (USEPA 2009). In 2005, 1,471,188 thousand gallons of distillate fuel oil were sold for 

residential use. If the sulfur level in this fuel was 15 ppm, a maximum of 150 short tons SO2 would have 

been released by residential combustion of distillate fuel. This calculation indicates that New York’s new 

law would result in a 99% SO2 emissions reduction from the residential sector such that this sector’s share 

of the total state-wide SO2 emissions inventory would drop to less than 1%. The reduction is illustrated in 

Figure 3-5, which compares the original 2005 NEI SO2 emissions inventory for New York State with a

hypothetical adjusted inventory incorporating a lower sulfur fuel content level. Note that in the adjusted 

inventory, the SO2 emissions from the commercial/institutional category were also recalculated based on 

the volume sales (distillate and residual fuel oils) for that sector according to the EIA. A sulfur content of 

15 ppm and 3,020 ppm (the average level based on the data in this study) were assumed for distillate oil

and residual oil, respectively. For other categories burning fuel oil (i.e., industrial boilers and electric 

utility), it is difficult to separate the fuel oil SO2 emissions in these categories from the coal combustion 

emissions; therefore, the SO2 emissions from all other categories remained unchanged from the original 

inventory.

2005 NEI Inventory Low Sulfur Potential

Commercial/Institutional

10%

Electric Utility

49%

Industrial Boilers

18%

Residential 

Fireplaces/Woodstoves

0%

Residential Fuel 

Combustion

9%

Planes, Trains, & Ships

4%

Non-Road Equipment 

2%

Waste Disposal

1%

On-Road Vehicles 

1%

Miscellaneous 

0% Indus Process

6%

Electric Utility

60%

Planes, Trains, & Ships

4% Non-Road Equipment 

2%

On-Road Vehicles 

2%

Miscellaneous 

0%

Industrial Boilers

21%

Waste Disposal

1%

Commercial/Institutional

3%

Residential 

Fireplaces/Woodstoves

0%

Indus Process

7% Residential Fuel 

Combustion

0%

Figure 3-5. General Source Category Contributions to the 2005 New York State Sulfur Dioxide 

Emissions Inventory. 

It is important to keep in mind that the residential distillate fuel oil reductions will be largest during the 

heating season (winter months). As mentioned in Section 1, sulfate is a significant component of PM2.5
3-10

during the wintertime, with a large local contribution under stagnant meteorological conditions. In addition, 

because residential oil combustion emissions occur in close proximity to where people live, reductions in 

sulfur emissions result in targeted reductions in public exposure to these pollutants.

Comparison with Speciate Emission Profiles

As mentioned above, the measured trace element concentrations in the fuel samples should represent the 

upper limit of the emissions, assuming that all trace elements are emitted to the air during combustion. It is 

interesting to compare the fuel-based emission factors determined in this work with current source profiles, 

largely obtained by in-stack measurements. SPECIATE is a USEPA database of speciated emissions 

profiles of air pollution sources (Hsu and Divita 2009). Recently, Reff et al. (2009) used the source profiles 

in SPECIATE to create a national emissions inventory of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for the year 2001. 

We were provided with the emissions estimates for New York for 2001 from both distillate oil combustion 

and residual oil combustion. Using the total amounts of distillate oil and residual fuel oil consumed by New 

York State in 2001 as provided by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), trace element emissions 

were estimated using the emission factors determined in this work. Table 3-5 compares the total 2001 New 

York State emissions estimates for trace elements from combustion of distillate and residual fuel oils from 

the calculations in this work with the SPECIATE-based calculations. 

Table 3-5. Trace Element Emissions Estimates from Distillate and Residual Oil Combustion in New 

York State, 2001

With the exception of zinc emissions from distillate oil, all of the trace element estimates based on the 

SPECIATE profiles are less than the values determined from the measurements made in this work. It is 

reasonable that the SPECIATE estimates are lower, because those estimates are based on stack

measurements and it is possible that trace elements are not completely emitted during combustion, or 

completely captured in the stack measurements. Given that zinc was the only trace element studied in this 

work that was also listed in the SPECIATE source profile for distillate oil, it is difficult to interpret whether 

zinc is an outlier in the source profile or if the entire profile may need to be examined. 

NESCAUM SPECIATE NESCAUM SPECIATE

ton/yr ton/yr ton/yr ton/yr

As 0.0251 0.86

Pb 0.942

Mn 14.2 0.0873

Ni 0.0383 84.7 1.14

Zn 0.0178 4.26 9.8 0.174

Co 5.56

V 14.8 1.93

Hg 0.0239 0.0101

Se 0.0518 0.597

#2 Distillate #6 Residual
3-11

Of special note is that the SPECIATE estimates give relatively more emissions of V than Ni from residual 

fuel oil combustion, whereas the estimates from this work indicate Ni content is greater than V content by a 

factor of five. It has been seen that the ratio of V to Ni in crude oil varies over a wide range (0.17 – 6.67), 

which may be correlated with the maturity of the crude oil (i.e., age of the reservoir rock) such that the 

V/Ni ratio decreases with increasing geologic time (Musa et al. 1995). Interestingly, all of the residual oil 

samples measured in this work, which presumably derive from diverse production fields, had higher Ni 

content than V content.

Summary

This work provides an up-to-date estimate of trace elemental composition of distillate fuels used in the state 

of New York and surrounding areas. The fuel composition results for residual oil reasonably agree with 

existing emission factors, except for Sb, Mn and Hg. For home heating oil, however, the existing emission 

factors may exceed the true concentration in the fuel currently used in the Northeast. This confirms the 

importance of trace elemental emissions from residual oil and reveals its relative contribution to be even 

greater than previously estimated when compared to emissions from home heating oil.

Table 3-6 summarizes and compares mercury and other trace element emission factors from AP-42 and the 

fuel sampling results for New York State and the Northeast described in this report. With this state and 

region-specific information, the fuel sampling results can be employed by air quality program managers in 

their work to develop improved inventories of emissions. Because these inventories form the basis for 

decisions, either by direct analysis or use in air quality modeling exercises, they require a reasonable degree 

of accuracy. Results for Hg, in particular, demonstrate the need to continually review and reassess available

emission factors and associated emissions estimates. The evaluation process becomes especially critical 

once the emissions of well-characterized major source categories have been reduced or controlled.

Table 3-6. Comparison of Emission Factors (EF) and Concentrations of Trace Elements for Distillate 

and Residual Fuel Oils

EF Conc. EF Conc. EF Conc. EF Conc.

lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb lb/106

 gal ppb

V n/a n/a 23.4 2,967 31.8 4,025

Mn 0.83 120 22.5 2851 3 380

Co n/a n/a 8.79 1113 6.02 762

Ni 0.0224 3.2 0.42 60 134 16,988 84.5 10,696

Zn 0.104 14.8 0.56 80 15.5 1,963 29.1 3,684

As 0.0147 2.1 0.56 80 1.36 172 1.32 167

Se 0.0303 4.3 2.08 295 0.945 119 0.683 86

Sb n/a n/a 70.1 8,873 5.25 665

Hg 0.014 2.0 0.42 60 0.016 2 0.113 14

Pb 1.25 179 1.49 188 1.51 191

#2 Distillate Oil #6 Residual Oil

Trace AP-42

Element

NESCAUM AP-42 NESCAUM
3-12

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