Losing Battle Against Smog

Here we go again. Now we are told by the National Academy of Sciences that we are losing our war against smog because of “misdirected” efforts based on flawed information. We are being told that far more effort must be placed on control of nitrogen oxides (NOx) even though for years most of the smog problem would be solved by controlling hydrocarbons (HC). Informed scientists knew all along that the efforts were misdirected.

While controls on NOx were restricted to passenger cars, the total number of cars was allowed to increase unabated and about two-thirds of the problem, namely trucks, buses and stationary sources such as power plants and refineries, remained exempt from smog controls. Meanwhile, Los Angeles continues to have the worst air in the nation. Our new report points out that the small gains against ozone could be explained easily by weather conditions.

Wasn’t anyone listening in 1951 when a Caltech scientist named A.J. Haagen-Smit described the origin of photochemical smog? He explained that HC and NOx react in the presence of sunlight to form ozone. He also explained that the reaction was circular, feeding upon its own byproducts to produce more and more ozone as long as the sun was shining. Wasn’t anyone listening in December, 1985, when the Air Resources Board released a report that indicated that our smog efforts would be nearly fruitless unless we turned our attention to controlling NOx?

Some people were listening, but the powers influenced by economic interests ignored the issue. The passenger car, the source of only about one-third of the emissions, became the target of emissions control. It appeared that money was the prime consideration. Industry and truckers were saved the expense of emissions control while a new industry evolved around smog inspection and the sales of gadgets to reduce emissions from cars.

So, now that NOx has been rediscovered, what is to be expected in the future? More stalling should be predicted. Perhaps some funding for additional study will be authorized. Real smog control has been avoided for 40 years, largely due to smoke and mirrors (no pun intended).

ALLAN A. SCHOENHERR, Ph.D

Professor of Ecology, Fullerton College