68 THE FIVE-YEAR OUTLOOK 



cultural activities, urban storm water runoff, individual 

 wastewater disposal systems, and airborne contaminants 

 (NRC-7). A more detailed discussion of the problem 

 appears in the Source Volumes (NRC-7). Controlling 

 nonpoint sources of water pollution is, however, a far 

 more complex problem than controlling point sources. 



CONTROLLING TOXIC POLLUTANTS 



The 1977 Clean Water Act amendments marked a 

 milestone in the regulation of the industrial water pollu- 

 tion control program, as emphasis was shifted away from 

 control of such conventional pollutants as total suspended 

 solids, fecal coliform bacteria, oil and grease, and phos- 

 phorus toward such toxic pollutants as chlorinated hydro- 

 carbons, solvents, and heavy metals." Regulations were 

 issued for the control of 65 classes of priority toxic pollu- 

 tants, established in the amendments as a result of a 

 consent decree, and the Environmental Protection 

 Agency (EPA) has proposed effluent limitations for nine 

 primary industries (ENVIRON). In proposing best avail- 

 able technology effluent limitations, EPA incorporated an 

 "indicator strategy," by which limitations were placed, in 

 some cases, not on the priority pollutants, for which data 

 were difficult or costly to obtain, but on "indicator" 

 pollutants, which have similar physical and chemical 

 properties and are responsive to similar treatment mecha- 

 nisms. Additional research efforts will be needed over the 

 next 5 years to fill gaps in existing health and ecological 

 data to support proposed water quality criteria for priority 

 toxic pollutants (ENVIRON). 



TREATING POLLUTED WATER 



An additional approach to the water pollution problem is 

 to treat water once it has been polluted. Technologies are 

 being developed that might aid in the recovery of polluted 

 water, thus potentially alleviating some of the strains 

 placed on local water supplies (discussed in the natural 

 resources section of this chapter) and providing for a 

 healthier environment. Some progress has already been 

 made, for example, in desalinating water in areas of 

 ground-water overdraft (ASTR-III). However, many con- 

 ventional and new technologies for treating polluted water 

 are highly expensive and energy inefficient. Additional 

 concerted multidisciplinary efforts aimed at developing 

 better techniques both for monitoring the level of con- 



taminants in the water supply and for treating polluted 

 water will be needed in the next 5 years (NRC-7; 

 ENVIRON). 



COMBATING AIR POLLUTION 



One aspect of air pollution — the atmospheric effects re- 

 sulting from the continued use of fossil fuels as an energy 

 source — has already been discussed in this section. 

 However, there are many other sources of air pollution that 

 will require attention during the coming years. The sub- 

 stantial effort to clean up the Nation's air, starting in the 

 1960s and stimulated by the Clean Air Act amendments of 

 1970 and subsequent amendments, has made impressive 

 gains. Of the five "criteria air pollutants" now routinely 

 monitored — sulfur dioxide (SO:), nitrogen dioxide 

 (NO:), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone, and total sus- 

 pended particulates (TSP)— three (CO, SO:, and TSP) 

 have been lowered nationally, while ozone concentrations 

 have remained stable. Oxides of nitrogen, on the other 



hand, remain at high levels.' 



According to a variety of experts, attention during the 

 coming years will need to be increasingly focused on 

 health-related aspects of airborne pollutants, particularly 

 on airborne carcinogens (ENVIRON). Continuing re- 

 search will be needed on the health and environmental 

 effects of oxidants, gases, and particles, as well as on the 

 above-mentioned effects of fossil fuels combustion. Over 

 the next 5 years, additional efforts will be needed to 

 characterize toxic organic chemicals and their at- 

 mospheric fates, to determine the extent of human ex- 

 posure to those chemicals, and to quantify the relation- 

 ships of those chemicals to respiratory infections, asthma, 

 emphysema, neurological disorders, and other diseases. 



During the past years, increased attention has also 

 focused on indoor air quality, a matter of increasing public 

 concern as energy conservation measures improve house- 

 hold insulation and reduce ventilation. Continuing studies 

 will be needed of the health effects of increased indoor 

 concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. 

 as well as the health effects of greater exposure to the 

 formaldehyde common in foam insulation, resins, furni- 

 ture, carpets, and drapes. Scientific advances will be 

 needed to form a base from which adequate and appropri- 

 ate strategies, both technological and nontechnological, 

 for combating air pollution and minimizing its effects 

 might be developed. 



REFERENCES 



1. "Federal Regulation." Executive Order 12291 February 17. 1981 



2. Environmenhil Qualilx — 1979. Tenth Annual Report of the Council 

 on Environmental Quality. Washington. DC: U.S. Council on En- 

 vironmental Quality, December 1979. 



3. Environmental Quality— 1980. Eleventh Annual Report of the 

 Council on Environmental Quality. Washington. D.C.: U.S. Council on 

 Environmental Quality. December 1980. 



4. Ibid. 

 i. Ibid 

 6 Ibid 

 7. Ibid. 



