Nitric acid is produced in the US in large volumes and along with this is the need for effective pollution control measures as well as proper disposal practices of the by-products of nitric acid manufacture.

Oxides of nitrogen are the waste products of nitric acid production. These oxides escape into the atmosphere and go through complex reactions with water vapor to form sulfuric acid and the re-formation of nitric acid. Nitric acid plants produce nitrous oxide (NOx) is a greenhouse which is 310 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.

There are two kinds of nitrogen oxides: nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Nitric acid is a flammable and colorless gas with a slight odor. Nitrogen dioxide is a nonflammable and reddish brown gas also with a distinct smell. Nitrogen dioxide has strong oxidizing properties that when it reacts with air, it produces the highly corrosive nitric acid along with hazardous organic nitrates.

In a recent court case filed by the Environment Integrity Project (EIP) and Sierra Club against the Environment Protection Agency, it stated that the Agency had failed to evaluate and bring up to date its emissions standards for nitric acid manufacturing plants.