ABSTRACT
Fossil fuels are being consumed at a prodigious and ever-expanding rate by the populations of the world. The unlocking of vast supplies of energy stored for millions of years in these fuels (coal, oil, and gas) underlies our most challenging air pollution problems. The burning of waste materials and the slow combustion of refuse in landfills add to the complex situation. The problems are further aggravated by the release into the atmosphere of sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen fluoride (HF), fluorosilicates, chlorine (Cl2), and other pollutants from the roasting of sulfite ores and from many chemical operations.
