Clearing the air

Journal Article · · EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal; (United States)

OSTI ID:5711783

Wolde, R ten

The off-white haze lingered for days over the Rocky Mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado. Days accumulated into weeks and drifted into months, offering nothing but sporadic views of the royal blue winter sky. With the approach of spring, the disheartening haze disappeared, but the following year it returned, settling on the town of 1,200 for the entire winter. At the time, the residents of Crested Butte didn't realize that they, together with Mother Nature, were the source of the problem. The haze was actually pollution. Crested Butte's dilemma was similar to that of other towns in which many citizens rely on wood-burning stoves as a principal heat source. Older stoves with no pollution control equipment were emitting dense smoke, laden with particulate matter, that became trapped in the town during temperature inversions. The town's residents were breathing unhealthy levels of smoke that violated EPA's air quality standards. To rectify the problem, EPA's Region 8 joined forces with the Crested Butte town council, the Colorado Department of Health, and the Wood Heating Alliance, representing private industry. Together, they transformed the town into a living laboratory for testing the emissions reductions that new, high-tech stoves promised. And they established programs to get homeowners to replace their polluting stoves. The results of the Crested Butte experiment will help solve a problem that exists in many towns and communities across the nation.

• OSTI ID: 5711783
• Journal Information: EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal; (United States), Journal Name: EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal; (United States) Vol. 19:1; ISSN 0145-1189; ISSN EPAJDB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
APPLIANCES
COLORADO
CONTROL
COOPERATION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EQUIPMENT
INTERAGENCY COOPERATION
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
POLLUTION
POLLUTION CONTROL
POLLUTION SOURCES
STOVES
USA
WOOD BURNING APPLIANCES