[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/EW-07-11-12-Power-Outage.mp3|titles=EW 07-11-12 Power Outage]
The EPA has estimated that power plants are responsible for 22 percent of nitrogen compounds and 69 percent of sulfur compounds that cause air pollution. The rest comes mostly from internal combustion engines and agricultural practices.
An opportunity to test the accuracy of these estimates came in 2003, when a massive power outage struck the Northeast. While people in the region suffered without air conditioning and refrigeration, a handful of scientists seized the opportunity to see what impact the absence of power plant emissions had on our air quality.
They used aircraft to measure ozone and particulate matter, both of which are byproducts of sulfur and nitrogen emissions, and compared data collected on the second day of the power outage to data recorded under normal conditions.
Ground level ozone decreased by 50%, and visibility increased by forty kilometers, which reflected a reduction in particulate matter. Air quality improvements occurred through much of the eastern United States, reminding us that air currents transport pollutants across state lines.
Nitrogen- and sulfur-based pollution causes smog and human health problems, including cardiovascular disease and asthma. Solving these problems requires pinpointing the sources of the pollution.
The power outage experiment of 2003 allowed scientists to do just that.
It’s also a reminder that transitioning to renewable energy will have an enormous positive impact on public health and well-being.
Web Links
Paper about 2003 “Accidental Experiment”
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2004/2004GL019771.shtml
Paper about 1999-2005 emissions reductions
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2006/2006GL027749.shtml
Photo, taken on January 9, 2011, courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources via Flickr.