4 Introduction Chap.

Air Pollution Control

In general,the typesof control discussedcorrespondto the type of air pollutantsemitted:

gasandparticulate.Particulatecontrolsdiscussedinclude cyclones,gravitationalsettling,
electrostaticprecipitators,scrubbers,and bagfilters. Gaseouscontrolsinclude absorption
in towers, adsorptionto activatedcarbon,and incineration. Indoor air pollution is also
discussed.

Hazardous Waste Management and Risk Management

Topics include RCRA (ResourceConservationand RecoveryAct) wastes,radioactive

wastes,the hazardouswaste transportationand manifest,methodsof final disposalof
nuclear wastes,and risk assessment.

Noise Pollution and Control

Methodsof noise measurement, noise criteria, and control are discussed.Noise is also
discussedin three types of settings: industrial, community, and airport. Indoor and
outdoornoise propagationis discussed.

ENVIRONMENTALTRAGEDIES AND LEGISLATIONS

In 1948,Donora,a small town at the bend of the MonongahelaRiver in Pennsylvania

(population14,000),had three main industrialplants: a steelmill, a wire mill, and a zinc
plating plant. During the last week in October 1948,a weathercondition that prevented
mixing of air prevailedin the area,resultingin an air pollution conditioncalledsmog. The
smogcontainedprimarily very fine particlesadmixedwith sulfurdioxide. By Wednesday,
the pollutionbecameso intensethat a streakof carbonappear~ tonang motionlessin the
air, and the visibility was so poor that eventhe nativeswere lost.! By Friday, doctors'
offices and hospitalswere inundatedwith calls for medicalattention. By the end of the
episode,21 peoplehad died and about 6000peoplebecameill.
A secondnotable episodeoccurred in London, England, in 1952. On Thursday,
December4 of that year,a high-temperatureair massthat hoveredover southernEngland
createdadverse,nonmixing air conditions. A fog settledover London and as particulate
and sulfurdioxide roseto higher levels,the atmospherestartedto blacken. Visibility was
reducedto zero and "a white collar becamealmost black within 20 minutes.',2 Smog
is especiallyirritating to the respiratorysystem,and many people developedred eyes,
burning throats,and nagging coughs. The elderly and people with chronic respiratory
problemsbeganto die, as well as otherwisehealthypeoplewhosejobs kept them near

JR. R. Schrenkand others(1949). "Air Pollution in Donora, Pa." U.S. Public Health ServiceBulle-
tin 306.
2C. Woolf (1969). Letter to theeditor. Archives ofEnvironmentalHealth, 18(715).
 I_~~ -
c'

Environmental Tragedies and Legislations

~ the smog. On December 9 when the smog lifted, 4000 Londoners had died. The ep
was enough to move the British to pass the Clean Air Act of 1956. The United ~
had passed its Clean Air Act of 1955 a year earlier. From this brief account, contr
-= air pollution could no longer be ignored. Even so, however, more deaths follow{
.~~ London in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1962, and 1963. Even in New York, 200 to 400 pe
.died of air pollution in 1963.
A third episode worthy of note reflects the effect of hazardous wastes. In 1:
William T. Love built a canal in Niagara Falls, New York. He intended to use the po
generated from this canal to transform the area into an industrial complex. The propo
power to be generated by the canal could not compete with the new technology of
alternating-current electricity; Love's vision did not materialize. Nevertheless, the ca
was built, although it was never finished. In the 1930s, the Hooker Chemical and Plas
Corporation, whose products included pesticides, plasticizers, and caustic, began filIi
the north end of the canal. Subsequently, other chemical companies began using t
canal as a chemical waste dump. In 1952, Hooker Chemical closed and capped the sit
Residences then began to be built around and on the site, and a school was built on top I
the canal. Part of the site was converted into a park where children amused themselv{
with the sparks and explosions from chunks of phosphorus they picked from the groun(
Not long afterward, residents discovered black liquid seeping into their basements. Latel
puddles of chemicals surfaced in backyards. In 1974, one resident found his pool raise(
2 feet above ground, pushed by a yellow-, blue-, and orchid-colored groundwater. Soor.
thereafter, a woman gave birth to a child with a damaged heart, bone blockages of the
nose, deformed ears, and a cleft palate. Later, the child developed a double row of teeth
on the bottom gumline. Health surveys in the neighborhood revealed that spontaneous
abortions were 250 times above normal, blood tests showed increases in liver damage,
and birth defects were high, including clubfeet, deafness, and mental retardation. High
levels of chemical wastes were found in the groundwater, including benzene, chloroform,
trichloroethylene, trichlorophenol, and seven additional carcinogens. All in all, 22,000
U.S. tons of chemical wastes were deposited in the Love canal over the years. Love
could not have envisioned this tragedy that befell Niagara Falls almost a century after his
time. Clearly, an activity considered beneficial or even heroic today could easily lead to '
a disaster tomorrow. ~
A fourth episode, which focuses on the importance of microbiology, relates to water.
In 1854, Dr. John Snow, a public health worker, discovered that a cholera epidemic was jl
rampant around the vicinity of a pump on Broad Street in London, England. Even cases
some distance from the pump could be traced back to Broad Street. Because people
of his time did not have any knowledge of the application of microbiology to drinking
water, Snow's contemporaries did not accept his evidence. It is alleged that he actually
removed the handle of the pump to bring the epidemic to a halt.
Additional environmental tragedies are described in the appendixes, and as this
book is being written many more are occurring in various parts of the world. In an
attempt to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies, laws and regulations have been
passedworldwide. Environmental legislation passed by the U.S. Congress is listed in
Appendix 13, and various offices and branches of the U.S. Environmental Protection