<< Back 8/28/02 SAMI study pinpoints sources of air pollution SMN A 10-year study with recommendations for improving air quality in the Southeast was released Aug. 28 by the Southern Appalachians Mountains Initiative (SAMI). The study analyzed the effects of acid rain, ozone, and haze in the mountains of eight Southeastern states, focusing on parks and wilderness areas. The study also compares potential pollution controls, indicates what sources contribute to air quality problems, in the different parts of the SAMI region, and recommends actions to protect future air quality. The SAMI Governing Body will adopt the report at its meeting on Aug. 29 in Asheville. The final report and a summary report are available at the SAMI website www.saminet.org SAMI is a voluntary, state-led association that includes industry, environmentalists, academics, government officials, and land managers. It developed an air quality computer model that tracks air pollution from sources, across the eastern U.S. to locations where effects are felt in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. According to the SAMI model, emissions controls would most benefit the individual states where the controls are applied. Surrounding states also would benefit from those controls. In all cases, regions outside the southern Appalachian states also affect air quality in SAMI parks and wilderness areas. “The SAMI study provided us a better understanding of Southern air quality than ever before,” said Bill Ross, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and SAMI Governing Body Chairman. “We now know what needs to be done to protect our natural areas and the residents in our mountains. “North Carolina has taken a big step toward carrying out the SAMI recommendations through the passage of its Clean Smokestacks bill earlier this summer,” Ross said. “I am confident that we will see improvements soon.” SAMI found that sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia are the predominant emissions contributing to ozone, the fine particles that cause haze, and acid deposition. Coal-fired electric power plants are the largest source of sulfur dioxide, and highway vehicles and utilities are the largest sources of nitrogen oxides. Highway vehicles are also the largest human-made sources of volatile organic compounds, and agricultural sources are the largest contributors to ammonia gas. The SAMI report is available at www.saminet.org.