Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress
On August 21, 2014, EPA released the Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress - the final of two reports required under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to inform Congress of EPA’s actions and progress in reducing public health risks from urban air toxics.
Using national emissions and air quality data, the report shows the substantial progress that has been made to reduce air toxics across the country since the passage of the Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy in 1999.
The report highlights some of the results achieved through EPA’s air toxics regulations, including:
- A 66 percent reduction in benzene;
- A nearly 60 percent reduction in mercury from man-made sources like coal-fired power plants;
- An 84 percent decrease of lead in outdoor air;
- The removal of an estimated 1.5 million tons per year of air toxics from stationary sources, and approximately 3 million tons per year of criteria pollutants as a co-benefit of air toxics reductions;
- The removal of an estimated 1.5 million tons per year of air toxics from mobile sources, which represents a 50 percent reduction in mobile source air toxics emissions
- The Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress - Aug. 21, 2014 (pdf)