Sulfur oxides, which are created by the burning of a marine engine's fuel, are major air pollutants and cause acid rain and, by directly affecting the mucous membranes in the human body in their gas form, respiratory diseases. As of 2015, the permitted percentage of sulfur in fuel specified by the IMO specified is 0.1% in Emissions Controlled Areas (ECA). Panasia's De-SOxsystem, PaSOx™, adopted the scrubber method that puts SOx in direct contact with sea water and dissolutes them in the liquid.