Note: This information is provided for reference purposes only. Although the information provided here was accurate and current when first created, it is now outdated.

"The promise of clean air is a promise we have made to ourselves and to our children. Profits come and go. You only get one chance at life." - Senator Edmund S. Muskie "The biggest change in industrial structure since the microchip will be a revolution in what cars are." - Amory Lovins

The air quality in New England has improved tremendously over the past 25 years. We have reduced many of the negative human health, ecological and economic impacts associated with air pollution in the region. The air pollution problems that remain -- many of which are more complex than those we have overcome -- call for new, innovative solutions. Today, the air that New Englanders breathe meets the health-based standards for all air pollutants with the exception of ground level ozone, (O3), the main constituent of summertime smog. The number of days on which the air has been considered unhealthful in New England has decreased dramatically since 1980 (Fig. 5). Smog, which includes fine particulates and chemical pollutants in addition to ozone, is formed during warm summer periods when air polluted with organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen undergo chemical reactions triggered by strong sunlight. As a society, we have made great strides in reducing unhealthful smog in New England through significant pollution controls on new automobiles and industrial emissions. The New England states, with assistance from EPA, have put in place sweeping air pollution control programs. As a result, the summer air in New England in the 1990s has been cleaner than in each of the last three decades. Ozone levels are closely linked to the weather in the summer. To determine the trend in ozone levels, it is necessary to consider the summer meteorological conditions. For example, during the period from 1983 to 1986, the number of high ozone days (days exceeding the air quality standard) dropped significantly (Fig. 6). However, notice that 1983 was a very warm summer, while 1985 and 1986 were much cooler; in short, the downward trend was caused more by meteorology than by emission reductions. The summer of 1995 was the first season in which the number of ozone exceedance days was less than the number of days above 90F. To determine whether air quality is generally improving or getting worse in New England, we can compensate for the effects of meteorology by examining a lengthy period of time. While it is clear what happens during hot summers (1983, 1988 and 1991) and cool summers (1985, 1986 and 1992) -- hotter summers have worse air quality, cooler summers pose less of a health threat -- there is no increasing or decreasing trend in the number of days per year with temperatures greater than or equal to 90F. When we compensate for the meteorology, we see a downward trend in the number of days above the ozone standard -- a good sign for the health of people in New England and an indication that our pollution controls are working. Over the last couple of years, regardless of the temperatures, we see a trend of improvement in air quality -- an even better sign. Computer-generated photographs of the evolution and movement of high ozone concentrations across New England can predict concentrations under various control strategies, as shown in Figure 7. During 1995, EPA, other federal agencies, the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, several universities, and industrial groups began a new study of ground-level ozone in the Northeast. This multi-millon dollar project, called NARSTO-NE (North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone - Northeast), uses sound science to provide new information to state and federal policy-makers and industrial decision-makers on how ozone is produced and transported from one area to another. Ultimately, this project will help develop more effective regional and local ozone control strategies for the Northeast that are grounded in accurate scientific findings. Another crucial source of information are the data collected under EPA's PAMS monitoring program (Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations). This long-term monitoring network, operated by each individual New England state, will characterize the concentrations of the compounds that cause ground-level ozone (VOCs and NOx) and ozone entering and leaving the densely populated areas of the east coast. In 1996, using these two systems, EPA and its partners will take extensive measurements of ozone and its precursor air pollutants during smog episodes at more than 200 (50 in New England) ozone and 27 (15 in New England) PAMS monitoring sites from West Virginia to Maine. We will have key information on the influence of natural precursors to ozone in New England, coastal meteorology (sea breeze influence), inter-city transport of ozone and ozone precursors, and the concentration of some important urban toxic organic compounds (such as formaldehyde, benzene, and xylene). Ultimately, the data obtained from these studies and networks will provide a basis for determining the effectiveness of local and regional ozone control programs. Of the various environmental issues facing New England, air quality is the one for which we have developed and can trace the most accurate indicators of the health of the environment. Despite improvements in motor vehicle technology over the past 25 years, cars and trucks are the largest single source of air pollution in the region, emitting approximately one half of all Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Nitrous Oxides (NOx) and air toxics. This is primarily because the number of vehicles on the road keeps growing and the number of miles driven has doubled since 1970 (Fig. 8). Two federal laws provide the framework for reducing motor vehicle pollution. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 call for more protective vehicle standards and fuel requirements, expanded vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance programs, and encourage transportation planning to reduce growth in miles traveled. The 1990 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) complements the Clean Air Act by requiring states and Metropolitan (or Regional) Planning Organizations (MPOs) to develop Transportation Plans that consider, from the earliest planning stages, environmental objectives, land use impacts and alternative modes of transportation (such as mass transit, riding bikes, and walking). EPA's New England office is working with the US Department of Transportation (DOT), the New England States, and local organizations to incorporate environmental concerns into transportation planning. In June, 1995, national and regional leaders, as well as 300 environmental professionals and activists, gathered to identify strategies that enhance mobility without harming the quality of our environment. The participants of that conference proposed that we work to improve coordination among environmental and transportation planners at the federal, state and local level, from the earliest stages of project planning. Early coordination helps identify and resolve potential environmental problems, reduces environmental impacts of a project and, in many cases, overcomes costly delays. The new organizational structure of EPA's New England office, which emphasizes "place-based" and "community-based" environmental protection, is designed to make such early collaboration not only possible but common practice at EPA. The regional office is collaborating with state and regional planning agencies to document effective strategies for integrating environmental considerations into transportation plans.