大气污染控制lecture 1-2 Introduction to Air Pollution Control.ppt

Introduction to Air Pollution Control 1. Some of the History of Air Pollution Control in the United States of America Although air pollution control actions go back at least as far as the thirteenth century, most of the major effort in the world has taken place since 1945. In the 1930s and 1940s, a factory smokestack issuing a thick plume of smoke was considered a sign of prosperity. Before 1945, industrial air pollution control efforts were directed at controlling large-factory emissions of pollutants that had led to conflict with neighbors of the factories. Much of this did not involve governmental action, but rather was a response to nuisance damage suits or the threat of such suits. Between 1945 and 1969, as awareness of air pollution problems gradually increased, some worthwhile local efforts to control air pollution were initiated, notably in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. Between 1963 and 1967 the federal government began to oversee and coordinate local and state air pollution control efforts. In 1969 and 1970, the United States experienced a great environmental awakening. Environmental matters were scarely mentioned in newspapers in 1968, but the same newspapers had an environmental story every day in 1970. This period saw the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Air Act of 1970, both of which have had sweeping effects and have greatly changed American way of dealing with air pollution. Similar changes took place throughout the industrial world at about the same time, with similar effects. At first the leaders of the older “smokestack” industries (steel, copper, some electric power) fought the new regulations, in the courts, in the press, and in congress. Twenty-five years later their successors mostly have decided that the air pollution regulations are here to stay and that their goals should be to influence the regulatory process to make the regulations as clear and practical as possible and then to comply with the regul