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After the World Trade Center collapsed, air samples collected nearby showed that levels of some cancer-causing chemicals had soared but had fallen so quickly that the pollution spike was unlikely to increase cancer risks in nearby communities, researchers reported yesterday. The chemicals, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are often found in sooty particles generated when fire consumes anything from tobacco to jet fuel. They have been linked to lung, skin and bladder cancers as well as other health problems. Earlier studies had estimated that between 100 and 1,000 tons of the chemicals spewed into the air after the attacks, both from...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 — NASA scientists say soot, mostly from diesel engines, is causing as much as a quarter of all observed global warming by reducing the ability of snow and ice to reflect sunlight. Their findings on how soot affects reflective ability raise new questions about climate change caused by humans. "We suggest that soot contributes to near worldwide melting of ice that is usually attributed solely to global warming," the scientists, Dr. James E. Hansen and Dr. Larissa Nazarenko, wrote in a paper published this week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Soot is a...

NASA scientists say that soot, mostly from diesel engines, is causing as much as a quarter of all observed global warming by reducing the ability of snow and ice to reflect sunlight. Their findings on how soot affects reflective ability, known as albedo, raise new questions about human-caused climate change from the Arctic to the Alps. Levels of airborne soot as high as about 100 parts per billion were found in the Alps, enough to significantly reduce the snow's ability to reflect sunlight rather than absorb it. "We suggest that soot contributes to near worldwide melting of ice that is...

NASA Finds Soot Has Impact on Global Climate A team of researchers, led by NASA and Columbia University scientists, found airborne, microscopic, black-carbon (soot) particles are even more plentiful around the world, and contribute more to climate change, than was previously assumed by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC). The researchers concluded if these soot particles are not reduced, at least as rapidly as light-colored pollutants, the world could warm more quickly. The findings appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It is authored by Makiko Sato, James Hansen and others...

There have been several articles about this new paper on the Web. I chose the one below because it seems to be comprehensive and well-written. Climate Models Get SmudgedReport Assessing Impact of Soot on Global Warming Could Alter Control Strategies, Place Burden on Developing Nations -- and Create New Uncertainty in Climate Model Predictions A new study on the role that atmospheric soot particles may play in global warming suggests a new near-term control strategy, introduces a new element of uncertainty in climate models and shifts more responsibility for curbing pollution to developing nations such as China and India. Published...