Page 18 - Fundamentals of Air Pollution

Preface

The authors of this book include a chemist (Donald L. Fox), a meteorolo-
gist (D. Bruce Turner), and a mechanical engineer (Richard W. Boubel).
This 1:1:1 ratio has some relevance in that it approximates the ratio of those
professionally involved in the field of air pollution. In the environmental
protection and management field, the experience of the recent past has
been that physicists and electrical engineers have been most attracted to
the radiation, nuclear, and noise areas; biologists and civil engineers to the
aquatic and solid waste areas; chemists, meteorologists, and chemical and
mechanical engineers to the area of air pollution and its control. These
remarks are not intended to exclude all others from the party (or from this
course). The control of air pollution requires the combined efforts of all the
professions mentioned, in addition to the input of physicians, lawyers,
and social scientists. However, the professional mix of the authors, and
their expectation of a not-too-dissimilar mix of students using this book,
forewarns the tenor of its contents and presentation.
Although this book consists of six parts and three authors, it is not to
be considered six short books put together back-to-back to make one large
one. By and large, the several parts are the work of more than one author.
Obviously, the meteorologist member of the author team is principally
responsible for the part of the book concerned with the meteorology of air
pollution, the chemist author for the chapters on chemistry, and the engi-
neer author for those on engineering. However, as you will see, no chapters
are signed, and all authors accept responsibility for the strengths and weak-
nesses of the chapters and for the book as a whole.

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