Doubts Cast on Yr. 2000 Urban Clean Air Goals

Many major cities won’t be able to comply with federal limits on smog-causing pollutants before the year 2000, according to a study released today.

In a report to Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment painted a grimmer picture of the outlook for urban smog reduction than was offered by President Bush in his proposals made in July for improving the nation’s air quality.

Bush had said his proposals by the year 2005 would bring all but about 20 cities into compliance with the standard for ozone, which is created when volatile organic compounds from vehicle exhaust and other sources mix in sunlight with nitrogen oxides that are formed by the burning of fossil fuels such as petroleum.

The Office of Technology Assessment, which spent two years studying the matter, said prospects for ozone reduction are much less bright, particularly in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

“We’re talking about 30 to 45 cities by the year 2000 that will still be out of compliance,” Bob Friedman, director of the OTA study, said in a telephone interview.

Friedman said it will take another 20 years or more before some cities, such as Los Angeles, Houston and New York, will be able to meet federal air quality standards.