patterns and trends in levels of suspended particulate matter

The National Air Surveillance Network (NASN) has collected samples of suspended particulate matter since 1957. These data values are graphically summarized by the application of Whittaker-Henderson Type A curve-smoothing formulas to 10 years of data. Fifty-eight urban sites and 20 nonurban sites are studied by this technique, which permits an intuitive grasp of the underlying cyclical patterns as well as long-term trends in nationwide levels of suspended particulate matter. Seasonal patterns are evident for many urban and nonurban sites, although sharp contrasts in seasonal characteristics exist between the two types of sites. Long-term levels tend slightly downward at many urban locations, but the opposite effect is observed at many nonurban sites.     

Highlights of the Second International Conference on Managing Hazardous Air Pollutants

As the time approaches for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate whether risks from electric utility trace substance emissions are of concern, attention is focused on research to clarify the many issues surrounding this topic. Accordingly, more than 230 representatives of industry, government, international research and academic institutions, equipment manufacturers, and engineering service firms attended the Second International Conference on Managing Hazardous Air Pollutants, which was held in Washington, D.C., on July 13–15,1993. Sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in cooperation with the EPA, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), PowerGen, Coal Research Division of the International Energy Agency, and Canadian Electrical Association, the conference featured more than 50 presentations that both asked and answered questions about utility emission sources, the atmospheric fate of emitted substances, health and environmental studies, risk assessment, and control technologies. The diversity of the audience produced a stimulating exchange of findings, interpretations, and assessments of remaining uncertainties. This exchange provided valuable direction for ongoing research activities worldwide.     

"Fuel Cleaning" and Materials Separation at Waste-to-Energy Plants

Separation of materials from municipal waste streams is not recycling. Successful recycling is demand-pulled rather than supply-driven; it depends on local markets that reuse separated materials. For this reason EPA's Office of Solid Waste has opposed national mandates for materials separation which do not address associated markets. But a recent Air Act decision could reverse that stance, potentially mandating high levels of materials separation for every new waste-to-energy (WTE) facility.

The decision holds that Best Available Control Technology (BACT) requires PSD permit applicants to consider separating "feasible" levels, of each "readily-ascertainable" waste component that contributes to air emissions when incinerated, despite their installation of advanced emissions controls or the lack of any evidence that emission concentrations would be further reduced by such "fuel cleaning." Because total emissions of any facility may always be reduced by requiring it to consume less fuel—or burn gas rather than oil, or use conservation rather than combust at all—the decision could radicalize New Source Review, transforming preconstruction permits from a process meant to assure specific emissions controls to one in which air agencies deny the existence of emitting sources. The decision could also delay preconstruction permits; force downsizing of disposal facilities EPA concedes to be necessary; accelerate landfill closures; inject air permit writers into solid waste management determinations; and make local waste infrastructure more difficult to finance. It demonstrates the slippery slopes created by attempts to convert single-medium statutes into multi-media programs under the banner of "pollution prevention."     

The toxicology of climate change: Environmental contaminants in a warming world

Climate change induced by anthropogenic warming of the earth's atmosphere is a daunting problem. This review examines one of the consequences of climate change that has only recently attracted attention: namely, the effects of climate change on the environmental distribution and toxicity of chemical pollutants. A review was undertaken of the scientific literature (original research articles, reviews, government and intergovernmental reports) focusing on the interactions of toxicants with the environmental parameters, temperature, precipitation, and salinity, as altered by climate change. Three broad classes of chemical toxicants of global significance were the focus: air pollutants, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including some organochlorine pesticides, and other classes of pesticides. Generally, increases in temperature will enhance the toxicity of contaminants and increase concentrations of tropospheric ozone regionally, but will also likely increase rates of chemical degradation. While further research is needed, climate change coupled with air pollutant exposures may have potentially serious adverse consequences for human health in urban and polluted regions. Climate change producing alterations in: food webs, lipid dynamics, ice and snow melt, and organic carbon cycling could result in increased POP levels in water, soil, and biota. There is also compelling evidence that increasing temperatures could be deleterious to pollutant-exposed wildlife. For example, elevated water temperatures may alter the biotransformation of contaminants to more bioactive metabolites and impair homeostasis. The complex interactions between climate change and pollutants may be particularly problematic for species living at the edge of their physiological tolerance range where acclimation capacity may be limited. In addition to temperature increases, regional precipitation patterns are projected to be altered with climate change. Regions subject to decreases in precipitation may experience enhanced volatilization of POPs and pesticides to the atmosphere. Reduced precipitation will also increase air pollution in urbanized regions resulting in negative health effects, which may be exacerbated by temperature increases. Regions subject to increased precipitation will have lower levels of air pollution, but will likely experience enhanced surface deposition of airborne POPs and increased run-off of pesticides. Moreover, increases in the intensity and frequency of storm events linked to climate change could lead to more severe episodes of chemical contamination of water bodies and surrounding watersheds. Changes in salinity may affect aquatic organisms as an independent stressor as well as by altering the bioavailability and in some instances increasing the toxicity of chemicals. A paramount issue will be to identify species and populations especially vulnerable to climate–pollutant interactions, in the context of the many other physical, chemical, and biological stressors that will be altered with climate change. Moreover, it will be important to predict tipping points that might trigger or accelerate synergistic interactions between climate change and contaminant exposures.