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The Clean Air Act
Breathing polluted air can be harmful or even fatal to human health and the environment. In an effort to protect air quality, Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1970, which enabled the EPA to set both federal and state regulations for emission reductions.
The Clean Air Act requirements are comprehensive and cover many different pollution sources and a variety of clean-up methods to reduce common air pollutants. The six common air pollutants are particle pollution, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and lead. Of the six pollutants, particle pollution and ground-level ozone are the most widespread health threats. The EPA regulates these pollutants by setting emission standards and assessing whether a geographic area is attaining or not attaining those standards.
Although a great progress has been made since the Clean Air Act was passed, there are still many areas of the country that are classified as nonattainment for at least one of the six common pollutants. In nonattainment areas the EPA along with its state and local partners, are working together to develop State/Tribal Implementation Plans, or SIPs, to reduce air pollutants to allowable levels.
As populations increase and industries expand, monitoring and controlling air quality becomes increasingly challenging. Each of us can play a role in pollution prevention by doing simple things such as:
- Check the daily Air Quality Index to see if there are any air pollution warnings in your area.
- Carpool, ride mass transit, walk or combine errands in one trip.
- Don’t top off the gas in your tank to prevent spillage and fumes from being released into the air.
- Choose low VOC consumer products such as paints and other household chemicals.
- Reduce vehicle idling as much as possible.