EPA’s Cooling Tower Plume Research

Abstract

A comprehensive review is made of EPA's cooling tower plume research program with particular attention to plume modeling. The research began in 1969 with a modest effort to define the problem and continued through a multidisciplinary research project at a site where a single-cell salt-water cooling tower was installed to assess its impact on the local terrestrial ecosystem. The evolutionary process involving the analytical developments and advanced instrumentation techniques required for such an undertaking is examined. Plans for continued efforts are presented.