CURRENT RESEARCH Conference on Science in the Control of Smog The conference on Science in the Control of Smog was held at the California Institute of Technology on Novemher 15 and 16, 1971, to review the current status of research on photochemical smog, particularly as it relates to control measures and policy. The meeting was held in honor of Dr. Arie Haagen-Smit on the occasion of his appointment as Professor Emeritus a t Caltech. The classic papers of Dr. Haagen-Smit on photochemical smog, including “The Chemistry and Physiology of Los Angeles Smog,” Ind. Eng. Chem., 44, 1342 (1952), had been puhlished almost 20 years previously. Iu these original papers Dr. Haagen-Smit had described a series of laboratory and field experiments which clearly demonstrated the key role which automohile exhaust played in the generation of the peculiar kind of air pollution afflicting the Los Angeles basin. The mechanisms by which the primary pollutants are formed in the automobile are described in the conference papers. An important result of Haagen-Smit’s early work was the elucidation of the main features of the chemical system involved in the generation of photochemical smog. Several different primary chemical pollutants reacted in the atmosphere in the presence of solar radiation to produce many new chemical species at low concentrations. The new chemical species included oxidants, eye irritants, and phytotoxicants and the formation of condensable chemical species contributed to visibility-degrading aerosols. Despite the low concentrations, significant human and plant response was reported. To measure the atmospheric levels of these pollutants, many new instruments capahle of continuous on-line measurement of very low gas concentrations were developed over the years following Haagen-Smit’s discoveries. (However, there is still no proved commercial instrument that can measure any of the chemical ’constituents of particulate pollution on a continuous on-line basis.) Increasingly sophisticated monitoring networks were created of which the one in Los Angeles is among the most complex. With the availability of data, i t became possible to set u p detailed models relating air quality to emission sources, and some of these are discussed in the papers of this conference. The development and validation of air pollution models for
urhan basins are n t a l to the develonment of rational __ nir r~~~~~ pollution control policies. Despite initial reluctance, by 1970 the automohile industry had finally made a significant commitment in its research and development programs to the control of emissions. This has led to the exploration of the possible use of new types of propulsion systems controlled by computer. Thus by the 1970’s. the field of air pollution had passed into a new phase: Technical concerns had shifted from considerations of gross tonnages of inert gases or- dusts to modeling, sensor design, and data analysis and data handlmg of multiphase, nonequilibrium chemical systems. From limiting emissions to prevent acute exposures as reflected in morbidity or mortality statistics, the new concerns are with behavioral responses to very low pollutant levels or the effects of chronic, low-level exposure over long time periods. One of the remarkable aspects of Dr. Haagen-Smit’s career has been the vigor with which he has pursued on a state and national level the policy implications of his scientific findings. He served as chairman of the President’s Task Force on Air Pollution, and is presently chairman of the State of California Air Resources Board. Several conference papers were invited on the role of the sciences, particularly chemistry, in the development of air pollution control policy. These were among the most stimulating presentations hut have not been published in this collection. The insistence of the reviewers on originality and an integrated presentation could not be reconciled with the efforts of the authors to relate science to public policy. Independent review and entirely separate judgments in each case led to a decision not to publish these papers in ES&T a t this time. The need remains for such contributions-discussions of the relationship of public policy to technical findings prepared hy engineers and scientists well-grounded in the suhject matter. I hope our conference will stimulate further effortsof this type. S. K. Friedlander California Institute of Technology Pasadena, Calif. ~
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Speakers and session chairmen, conference on Science in the Control of Smog, November 15-16, 1971; front row (from left to right), Francois Frenkiel, F. E. Blacet, A. J. Haagen-Smit. Morris Neiburger, S. K. Friedlander; second row, J. H. Seinfeld, R. E. Husar. Kamran Habibi. J. J. Morgan, J. C. Keck; top row, J. G. Edinger, W. H. Corcoran. Bernard Weinstock Volume 7. Number 3,March 1973
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