Haze obscuring Grand Canyon to be reduced The thick haze that sometimes sets over the Grand Canyon and ruins views of this natural wonder will be considerably reduced u n d e r an agreement reached between the largest electric power plant nearby and a regional conservation organization. The proposed cleanup has the backing of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Grand Canyon Trust, a conservation group, and the Salt River Project, an Arizona public utility and operator of the huge Navajo Generating Station, have been arguing for years over how much the 2250-MW coal-fired electric plant was contributing to the canyon's haze. Studies by EPA in the late 1980s and by the public utility itself in 1990, however, confirmed that 40 to 60% of the sulfur dioxide in the particulates over the canyon during the worst haze episodes came from the power plant. Grand Canyon Trust president Edward Norton says the agreement "sets a new standard for corporate responsibility and public service/7 He also notes this is the first time EPA has acted solely to protect visibility in a national park. And it may be the only time EPA does this. According to David Stonefield, chief of EPA's particulate matter program section in the Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards, the Grand Canyon is the only area where the agency has been looking at visibility standards.
Biochemist studies crystal growth on space shuttle On their nine-day flight ending Aug. 11, space shuttle Atlantis' five astronauts performed several chemical-related studies under microgravity conditions. Here, while in orbit, Shannon W. Lucid carries out a study aimed at learning about methods and commercial potential for biomedical manufacturing processes and fluid science processing. Included are growing large, high-quality protein crystals; zeolite crystal formation; collagen and virus assembly; interferon induction; seed germination; cell fixation; and fluid sciences/diffusion. Crew members also measured Earth's ozone levels, and studied physical and chemical processes occurring during formation of polymer mem-
Under a court order, EPA proposed a plan last February to cut the power plant's emissions 70% at a cost of about $106 million yearly. But the new plan would cut sulfur dioxide emissions 90% and cost the company only about $90 million annually. The difference comes by changing the way in which the averaging time is calculated for meeting the lower level. EPA proposed a 30-day averaging time that would require extensive backup equipment at the plant. Under the proposed agreement, an annual rolling average would be used, cutting the equipment cost about 30%. Stonefield says the power plant is presently emitting about
Same view of Grand Canyon hidden by haze (left) and unobscured
branes. Lucid, 48, holds a B.S. degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma. This was her third space flight, a total of 501 hours and 41 minutes in space, the most for any woman.
1 lb of sulfur dioxide per million Btu, and the agreement would cut that to 0.1 lb per million Btu. The technology to do this will be flue gas desulfurization using wet scrubbers. The Salt River Project is expected to cover most of its costs by selling emission credits. By the late 1990s, when all controls are in place, the plant could get credits for removing 63,000 tons of sulfur dioxide a year—and sell the credits for about $570 per ton. David Hanson
Kodak restructures, to cut 3000 employees As part of a corporate restructuring, Eastman Kodak last week announced its fourth work force reduction in the past eight years. Kodak plans to reduce its imaging and information systems employment base by 3000, mostly through early retirement. It will take a onetime charge against earnings that will reduce third-quarter earnings $375 million. It is consolidating all its operations into three business units—Eastman Chemical, a new Imaging Group that includes information systems, and a Health August 19, 1991 C&EN
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