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Smokestacks & Pollution

Across the country, smokestacks in industrial areas are towering structures with a plume of smoke billowing out from the top. Smokestacks are point-sources of pollution, which means you can see the source of the pollution clearly. What you may not see is the widespread harm smokestack pollution causes, and the work of business owners and government agencies to help ensure a cleaner, healthier environment for the future.

  1. Smokestack Pollution Potpourri

    • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes six "criteria pollutants." The name stems from the pollutants' harm to human and environmental health, and the criteria the EPA uses to regulate them. Each criteria pollutant is related directly, or indirectly, to smokestack pollution in different industries. Over half the power plants in the United States burn coal to produce electricity. When coal is burned, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, among other pollutants, are released. Sulfur dioxide is a natural byproduct of burning coal, and a known component of acid rain. Nitrogen oxides are released when any fossil fuel is burned, so other industries besides power plants produce them. Any combustion exhaust smokestack is capable of producing a number of other pollutants such as dioxin, hydrochloric acid and toxic metals.

    Why Size Matters

    • Older smokestacks in the United States are not as tall as the ones more commonly used in 2011. Particles from shorter smokestacks form brown and hazy smog, which settles on the ground, polluting the immediate area. Early theories about pollution concluded that taller chimneys would send pollution higher into the air, resulting in cleaner air and less pollution on the ground. Unfortunately, that logic is flawed. Pollution from tall smokestacks has more opportunity to disperse or dilute. However, the longer pollution is in the air, the more likely it is to contribute to acid rain, ground-level ozone and other environmental concerns. Also, tall stacks send unwanted pollutants to neighboring areas.

    Health and Environmental Impact

    • Acid rain pollutes the soil, which pollutes groundwater. Polluted groundwater leads to the death of fish and other aquatic life. It also contributes to the death of complete ecosystems, including plant life. Particulate matter from smokestacks is a breathing hazard related to underdeveloped lungs in children. It combines with volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, on sunny days to create ground-level ozone, which can lead to coughing, wheezing, skin irritation and lung damage.

    Hope for the Future

    • The Clean Air Act could prevent the deaths of over 200,000 people by the year 2020, says the EPA, by regulating polluting emissions. Smokestack pollution is partially controlled with a technology called "scrubbers" to absorb sulfur dioxide before it escapes. All power plants built since 1978 are required to have them. Limestone cleans, or scrubs, the pollution from the emissions. It is ground into a powder and mixed with water, forming a paste. The paste is sprayed into the exhaust as it is released, where it absorbs the pollutant. Nitrogen oxides are regulated by controlling how the fuel is burned or by using catalysts to destroy them.

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