£1500M wanted for fight against acid rain

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 32

£1500M wanted for fight against acid rain

NZPA-AAP London A Parliamentary committee will urge the British Government to spend £l5OO million to curb environmental damage from acid rain, reports “The Times” A three-month probe by an all-party committee, whose findings are due to be tabled next month, concluded that sulphur dioxide emissions from power stations were a main cause of the phenomenon known as acid rain. Acidity in lakes throughout Europe has caused widespread damage, with some 18,000 of Sweden’s 20,000 lakes now “dead” from acidity thought largely to have been exported from Britain. Acid rain can occur hundreds of kilometres from the source of the pollution which mixes with clouds

and falls as diluted sulphuric acid. The committee’s report will also present photographic evidence of acid rain damage to important buildings, including Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral. The main recommendation will be the installation of desulphurisation equipment at 12 coal-fired power stations. However, the British Government is likely to resist the proposal because it has already said that it will not spend hundreds of millions of pounds on reducing emissions until there is greater certainty about the benefits. The Central Electricity Generating Board has said it will need to raise power prices by 5 per cent to cover the cost of the equipment.