Administration loses its umbrella against standfast acid rain policy

On June 27, 1983, a group of nine nationally known scientists urged action be taken against acid rain, arguing that the risk of further environmental damage far outweighed the risk of acting on limited information, and that some of the information which had been requested by the government could never be supplied as the measurements needed for that information were not in use decades ago. A very major concern was over continuing damage to soil microorganisms caused by sustained acidification. However, response was slow in coming to this report. One basic problem is to determine how much sulfur dioxide emissions to reduce and where. Acid rain bills on Capitol Hill fall into three categories: those calling for more research, for reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions in the 31 states bordering on or east of the Mississippi River and for reduction of both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in all 48 states. There appears to be an increased political momentum building to support efforts to control acid rain. 1 figure.