Met. men not afraid of Concorde

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34046, 9 January 1976, Page 9

Met. men not afraid of Concorde

fW Z Press Assn —Copyright) GENEVA, Jan. 8.

The number of supersonic transport planes now planned would have no effect that would be significant or that could be distinguished from natural variations on the ozone in the stratosuhere, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.

The United Nations agency said, however, that a large fleet of supersonic aircraft 'flving at altitudes greater than 11 miles, the height present supersonic planes now .reach, was predicted to have

a noticeable effect on the ozone layer. For this reason, permissible total emission levels might have to be defined by international agreement. W.M.O. said.

Without mentioning either the Concorde, the supersonic oassenger plane jointly built by France and Britain, or its Soviet counterpart, the W.M.O. statement apparently gave the green light to the dans to put them into regular service. These are the only two supersonic commercial aircraft planned. W.M.O. put at between 30 and 50 the presently planned total of supersonic transports when giving their “limited numbers” as one reason the planes were not expected to have a

noticeable impact on the ozone layer. What the weather agency termed an “authoritative statement” on the modification of the ozone layer, concentrated between 12 and 15 miles above the Earth, was prepared by an international group of experts on the atmosphere with leading ozone specialists. Publication of the statement at this time was unrelated to the debate now under wav in Washington as to whether to grant landing rights in the United States for the Concorde, a W.M.O. spokesman said. Damage to the ozone laver bv supersonic transport nlanes would impair its ability to limit the ultra-violet rays that cause skin cancer

reaching the Earth, W.M.O. said. Theoretical calculations put the increase at about 20 per cent for a 10 per cent reduction in ozone, the agency said.

Uncertainties about the impact on the ozone layer of changing agricultural habits, notably in increased use of certain fertilisers, are still very great. W.M.O. said. Although it saw no likelihood of a significant change in the layer in the near future, the agency said that the question deserved thorough study because of the substantial long-term effects which some scientists consider possible. W.M.O. expressed concern about the increase in the manufacture and release of

the freon gases used as propellants in sprays, as present evidence supports the view that their continued release into the atmosphere may lead to a significant reduction in stratospheric ozone. It is expected that a 10 per cent reduction in ozone would result in an average decrease of up to 10 degrees centigrade in the upper stratosphere, the statement said. But it added that because of the complex interaction between the stratosphere and the troposphere it was “not possible to infer with any reliability what the full consequences of these changes would be on the Earth’s climate.” In Paris, a top French civil

aviation official has said that France would not accept a United States Government decision to grant the Concorde only experimental landing rights in the United States.

Mr Claude Abraham, director of French air transport, who pleaded for France at Monday’s Concorde hearing in Washington, said: “We should obtain everything we asked for. A partial solution will be a bad one and an experimental solution will not be acceptable.”

His comments follow reports that the United States Government is considering granting experimental sixmonth landing rights to the Plane at Dulles Airport, Washington.