Glass N R
Environ Health Perspect. 1979 Dec;33:249-72. doi: 10.1289/ehp.7933249.
This report is limited to an evaluation of the ecological and environmental effects of gaseous emissions and aerosols of various types which result from coal combustion. It deals with NOx, SOx, fine particulate, photochemical oxidant and acid precipitation as these pollutants affect natural and managed resources and ecosystems. Also, synergistic effects involving two or more pollutants are evaluated as well as ecosystem level effects of gaseous pollutants. There is a brief summary of the effects on materials and atmospheric visibility of increased coal combustion. The economic implications of ecological effects are identified to the extent they can be determined within acceptable limits. Aquatic and terrestrial effects are distinguished where the pollutants in question are clearly problems in both media. At present, acid precipitation is most abundant in the north central and northeastern states. Total SOx and NOx emissions are projected to remain high in these regions while increasing relatively more in the western than in the eastern regions of the country. A variety of ecological processes are affected and altered by air pollution. Such processes include community succession and retrogression, nutrient biogeochemical cycling, photosynthetic activity, primary and secondary productivity, species diversity and community stability. Estimates of the non health-related cost of air pollutants range from several hundred million dollars to $1.7 billion dollars per year. In general, these estimates include only those relatively easily measured considerations such as the known losses to cultivate crops from acute air pollution episodes or the cost of frequent repainting required as a result of air pollution. No substantial nationwide estimates of losses to forest productivity, natural ecosystem productivity which is tapped by domestic grazing animals and wildlife, and other significant dollar losses are available.
本报告仅限于评估煤炭燃烧产生的各类气体排放和气溶胶的生态与环境影响。它涉及氮氧化物、硫氧化物、细颗粒物、光化学氧化剂和酸雨，因为这些污染物会影响自然和人工管理的资源及生态系统。此外，还评估了涉及两种或更多污染物的协同效应以及气态污染物对生态系统层面的影响。文中简要总结了煤炭燃烧增加对材料和大气能见度的影响。在可接受的限度内，确定了生态影响的经济意义。当相关污染物在水生和陆地环境中均构成明显问题时，区分了两者的影响。目前，美国中北部和东北部各州的酸雨最为严重。预计这些地区的硫氧化物和氮氧化物总排放量仍将居高不下，而美国西部地区的增长幅度相对大于东部地区。空气污染会影响和改变各种生态过程。这些过程包括群落演替与逆行、养分生物地球化学循环、光合活动、初级和次级生产力、物种多样性以及群落稳定性。空气污染物与健康无关的成本估计每年在数亿美元至17亿美元之间。一般来说，这些估计仅包括那些相对容易衡量的因素，如急性空气污染事件对农作物造成的已知损失，或空气污染导致的频繁重新粉刷成本。目前尚无关于森林生产力损失、国内放牧动物和野生动物利用的自然生态系统生产力损失以及其他重大经济损失的全国性实质性估计数据。
