Bad Air in Los Angeles

One of the first atmospheric chemical cycles to be well documented involves the production of high levels of ozone and photochemical smog. This cycle is ubiquitous in polluted air in any urban area, but was first studied in detail in Los Angeles, California, where the problem is particularly bad due to the high vehicle density and low ventilation rate of the Los Angeles Basin. The set of all possible atmospheric reactions that occur is complex, so only the basic 03-N0x cycle and one representative hydrocarbon pathway are presented here. 

Health Department investigators knew better. They had measured air contamination upwind of the plant as bad as downwind, and they knew that irritation could set in at points far removed from each other. No one source could be at fault the Board of Health was warned in May that a repeat of the previous summer s events was inevitable. Efforts were made to educate the public, but they had limited effect. The false lesson from the butadiene episode would, for years to come, color Los Angeles efforts to control its air pollution problems.7... 

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