Recent research indicates that nitrogen oxides (NOx) could be one of the most troublesome air pollutants of the 1980's. More than 20 million metric tons of NOx are annually polluting our air as a result of the widespread combustion of fossil fuels in power plants, industrial boilers, and automobiles and trucks. Present levels of NOx emissions already pose a significant threat to our health and environment. Nitrogen oxides are directly harmful to human health, and are precursors of photochemical oxidants such as ozone, the major component of urban smog. They can also be converted into nitric acid, one of the two principal components of acid precipitation. The EPA is actively working with other Federal agencies and the academic, industrial, and private research communities to develop viable combustion technologies which will strictly limit NOx emissions. The authors have prepared this Research Summary to inform the public of the status of their efforts to make improved control technologies available as soon as possible.

Cover title. Research summary editor: Mark Schaefer. "February 1980." Includes bibliographical references. "EPA/600-8-80-044."