During 2003 North America blackout, pollution dropped 50-90%,

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During 2003 North America blackout, pollution dropped 50-90%, visibility

increased 25 miles

Posted by: Admin on Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:32 AM GMT

 

As highlighted by the radio show Earthbeat (on the Pacifica Network radio

station WPFW in Washington, DC), according to a preprint of a 2004

Geophysical Research Letters article:

The August 2003 North American electrical blackout provided a unique

opportunity to quantify directly the contribution of power plants to

regional haze and O3. Airborne observations over central Pennsylvania on

August 15, 2003, ~24 h into the blackout, revealed large reductions in SO2

(>90%), O3 (~50%), and light scattered by particles (~70%), relative to

measurements outside the blackout region or over the same location when

power plants were operating normally. CO and light absorbing particles were

unaffected. Low level O3 decreased by ~38 ppbv and the visual range

increased by > 40 km. This clean air benefit was realized over much of the

eastern U.S. Reported SO2 and NOx emissions from upwind power plants were

down to 34 and 20% of normal, respectively. The improvement in air quality

provides evidence that transported emissions from power plants hundreds of

km upwind play a dominant role in regional haze and O3 production.