Research timetables for acid rain
Several bills have been introduced to Congress which would require that emissions of sulfur-bearing gases from power plants and other coal burning facilities be reduced. The principal options available at present are switching to low-sulfur coal or installing scrubbers which remove potentially harmful gases from exhaust streams. Both options would significantly increase the cost of generating electricity. What is not known at present is how much benefit would be derived from such expensive and severe measures. The uncertainties can be attributed to two problems. First, acid rain results from processes in nature, such as decay of organic material, and from the combustion of fossil fuels. The combustion of coal contributes only a portion of the amount caused by all fossil fuel combustion, and fossil fuel combustion contributes an unknown amount compared to natural causes. Second, the long-distance transport of acid rain precursors in the upper atmosphere is not well understood. Claims that air pollution from the Midwest causes acid rain problems in Canada and New England are, at present, conjecture. The Reagan Administration wants Congress to at least defer, and perhaps abandon, action on all bills that have been proposed. The Administration recommends instead that research on acid rain's causes and effects be intensified. Perhaps what the nation needs is commitment to a plan of action which includes decision points every three years. At these decision points, mandatory control through legislation would be implemented only if progress in research were disappointingly slow.
- OSTI ID:
- 6437273
- Journal Information:
- Miner. Matters; (United States), Vol. 6:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ACID RAIN
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
COAL
COST
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
FOSSIL FUELS
LEGISLATION
LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT
POWER GENERATION
SCRUBBERS
SULFUR CONTENT
SULFUR DIOXIDE
TIME DEPENDENCE
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHALCOGENIDES
CONTROL
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EQUIPMENT
FUELS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION CONTROL
POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
RAIN
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
294001* - Energy Planning & Policy- Coal
290300 - Energy Planning & Policy- Environment
Health
& Safety
290500 - Energy Planning & Policy- Research
Development
Demonstration
& Commercialization
293000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation