Minimizing the cost of air pollution control

A recent report by the Council on Environmental Quality (1979) places the cost of air pollution control in the U.S. at $19.3 billion annually. Cumulative abatement expenses are expected to total more than $300 billion over the decade ending in 1987. These high costs are coupled with an abatement program that has yet to achieve compliance with federal air quality standards (Table 1). There is mounting pressure to "solve" both the compliance and cost problems by relaxing air quality goals.