AIR POLLUTION Opportunities to Better Sustain and Modernize the National Air Quality Monitoring System

"What GAO Found

The ambient air quality monitoring system is a national asset that provides standardized information for implementing the Clean Air Act and protecting public health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state and local agencies cooperatively manage the system, with each playing different roles in design, operation, oversight, and funding. For example, EPA establishes minimum requirements for the system, and state and local agencies operate the monitors and report data to EPA.
 

 Officials from EPA and selected state and local agencies identified challenges related to sustaining the monitoring system. For example, they said that infrastructure is aging while annual EPA funding for state and local air quality management grants, which cover monitoring, has decreased by about 20 percent since 2004 after adjusting for inflation (see fig.). GAO found inconsistencies in how EPA regions have addressed these challenges. GAO’s prior work has identified key characteristics of asset management, such as identifying needed resources and using quality data to manage infrastructure risks, which can help organizations optimize limited resources. By developing an asset management framework that includes such characteristics, EPA could better target limited resources toward the highest priorities for consistently sustaining the system.."
National Air Quality Monitoring 

Best Practices for Reducing Near-Road Air Pollution Exposure at Schools

"Motor vehicles are a major source of air pollution in the United States. Research suggests that particulate matter (PM) from vehicles, notably heavy-duty diesel vehicles, may be especially harmful.

• While vehicle emissions have decreased over the past several decades due to EPA’s emissions standards for cars and trucks, schools may still be located in areas where air pollution levels are elevated.
• Motor vehicle pollutant concentrations tend to be higher closer to the road, with the highest levels generally within the first 500 feet of a roadway and reaching background levels within approximately 2,000 feet of a roadway, depending on the pollutant, time of day and surrounding terrain.
• Nearly 17,000 schools in rural and urban areas across the U.S. are located near heavily traveled roads.
• Exposure to traffic-related air pollution has been linked to a variety of short- and long-term health effects.
• Children are particularly sensitive to air pollution, because their respiratory systems are not fully developed, they are more active, and they breathe more rapidly than adults. Children also are more likely than adults to have asthma..."

Air pollution and schools

EPA Proposes to Reduce Smog-Forming Pollution Transported Across State Lines

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing updates to the agency’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to address interstate air quality impacts for the 2008 ozone air quality standards. The proposed updates would reduce summertime emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from power plants that contribute to downwind ozone problems in the eastern half of the U.S.

“This update will help protect the health and lives of millions of Americans by reducing exposure to ozone pollution, which is linked to serious public health effects including reduced lung function, asthma, emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and early death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “The proposed updates support states’ obligation to address air pollution that is carried across state lines.”

The Clean Air Act’s “good neighbor” provision requires states – or, as a backstop, EPA – to address interstate transport of air pollution that affects the ability of downwind states to attain and maintain clean air standards. Under the “good neighbor” provision, states develop state implementation plans while EPA plays a backstop role by issuing federal implementation plans (FIPs) if a state fails to submit an approvable plan. Today’s proposal provides the FIP that would apply if EPA’s backstop obligation is triggered. States may choose to have their emissions sources controlled by the FIP rather than developing their own plan...:
Smog pollutants

EPA, California Notify Volkswagen of Clean Air Act Violations

"Today, EPA is issuing a notice of violation (NOV) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (collectively referred to as Volkswagen). The NOV alleges that four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009-2015 include software that circumvents EPA emissions standards for certain air pollutants. California is separately issuing an In-Use Compliance letter to Volkswagen, and EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have both initiated investigations based on Volkswagen’s alleged actions. 

“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. EPA will continue to investigate these very serious matters.”

“Working with US EPA we are taking this important step to protect public health thanks to the dogged investigations by our laboratory scientists and staff,” said Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard Corey. “Our goal now is to ensure that the affected cars are brought into compliance, to dig more deeply into the extent and implications of Volkswagen’s efforts to cheat on clean air rules, and to take appropriate further action.”

As described in the NOV, a sophisticated software algorithm on certain Volkswagen vehicles detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test. The effectiveness of these vehicles’ pollution emissions control devices is greatly reduced during all normal driving situations. This results in cars that meet emissions standards in the laboratory or testing station, but during normal operation, emit nitrogen oxides, or NOx, at up to 40 times the standard. The software produced by Volkswagen is a “defeat device,” as defined by the Clean Air Act..."
Volkswagen

How Many Breaths Do You Take Each Day?

"Watching the news and the problems that some countries are having with high levels of air pollution makes me appreciate the Clean Air Act, which calls on EPA and the states to protect air quality through programs based on the latest science and technology. I am especially appreciative today, the first day of Air Quality Awareness Week..."
Air quality

U.S. Department of State and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Launch Innovative International Air Quality Program

"Secretary of State John Kerry and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy signed a statement of intent today to launch a new air quality partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The effort will provide U.S. citizens and government personnel with better information on air quality at select embassies and consulates around the world to reduce health risks from outdoor air pollution, and will offer greater opportunities for the United States to create partnerships on air quality with other nations..."
International air quality

EPA Proposes Smog Standards to Safeguard Americans from Air Pollution

"Based on extensive recent scientific evidence about the harmful effects of ground-level ozone, or smog, EPA is proposing to strengthen air quality standards to within a range of 65 to 70 parts per billion (ppb) to better protect Americans’ health and the environment, while taking comment on a level as low as 60 ppb. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to review the standards every five years by following a set of open, transparent steps and considering the advice of a panel of independent experts. EPA last updated these standards in 2008, setting them at 75 ppb..."
EPA, air pollution,  smog standards

EPA Proposes Clean Air Standards for Harmful Soot

"In response to a court order, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed updates to its national air quality standards for harmful fine particle pollution, including soot (known as PM2.5). These microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and have been linked to a wide range of serious health effects, including premature death, heart attacks, and strokes, as well as acute bronchitis and aggravated asthma among children. A federal court ruling required EPA to update the standard based on best available science. Today’s proposal, which meets that requirement, builds on smart steps already taken by the EPA to slash dangerous pollution in communities across the country. Thanks to these steps, 99 percent of U.S. counties are projected to meet the proposed standard without any additional action..."

Cross-State Air Pollution Rule(CSAPR)
"On July 6, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule that protects the health of millions of Americans by helping states reduce air pollution and attain clean air standards. This rule, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), requires 27 states to significantly improve air quality by reducing power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution in other states.

This rule replaces EPA's 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). A December 2008 court decision kept the requirements of CAIR in place temporarily but directed EPA to issue a new rule to implement Clean Air Act requirements concerning the transport of air pollution across state boundaries. This action responds to the court's concerns..."

EPA Proposal Cuts Pollution from Power Plants in 31 States and D.C. / Rule would reduce smog- and soot-forming emissions contributing to unhealthy air
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing regulations to cut air pollution that impairs air quality and harms the health of people living downwind. The regulation will target power plant pollution that drifts across the borders of 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia. Air pollution is linked to thousands of asthma cases and heart attacks, and almost 2 million lost school or work days. Along with local and state air pollution controls, the new proposal, called the transport rule, is designed to help areas in the eastern United States meet existing national air quality health standards.

“This rule is designed to cut pollution that spreads hundreds of miles and has enormous negative impacts on millions of Americans,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re working to limit pollution at its source, rather than waiting for it to move across the country. The reductions we’re proposing will save billions in health costs, help increase American educational and economic productivity, and -- most importantly -- save lives.”

The transport rule would reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to meet state-by-state emission reductions. By 2014, the rule and other state and EPA actions would reduce SO2 emissions by 71 percent over 2005 levels. NOx emissions would drop by 52 percent..."

EPA Proposal Cuts Pollution from Power Plants in 31 States and D.C. / Rule would reduce smog- and soot-forming emissions contributing to unhealthy air
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing regulations to cut air pollution that impairs air quality and harms the health of people living downwind. The regulation will target power plant pollution that drifts across the borders of 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia. Air pollution is linked to thousands of asthma cases and heart attacks, and almost 2 million lost school or work days. Along with local and state air pollution controls, the new proposal, called the transport rule, is designed to help areas in the eastern United States meet existing national air quality health standards..."

EPA Releases third National Assessment of Toxic Air Pollutants
"EPA has released the latest version of a state-of-the-science tool that estimates health risks from breathing air toxics in the United States. The National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), based on 2002 air emissions data, helps federal, state, local and tribal governments identify areas and specific pollutants for further evaluation to better understand risks they may pose.

Air toxics are of concern because they are known to or are suspected of causing cancer and other serious health problems, including birth defects. The report assessed 180 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter from stationary sources of all sizes and from mobile sources such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment.

The 2002 NATA estimates that most people in the United States have an average cancer risk of 36 in 1 million if exposed to 2002 emissions levels over the course of their lifetime. In addition, 2 million people—less than one percent of the total U.S. population—have an increased cancer risk of greater than 100 in 1 million. Benzene was the largest contributor to the increased cancer risks..."

Breathing Easier: Cap and Trade Lowers Smog Levels in Eastern United States
"More than 102 million Americans are breathing cleaner air due to decreases in smog-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) according to the NOx Budget Trading Program annual report. The 2007 summertime NOx emissions from power plants and industrial sources were down by 60 percent compared to 2000 levels and 74 percent below 1990 levels in 20 eastern states and the District of Columbia.

The program helped improve air quality in 95 percent of nonattainment areas in the east, with 64 percent of these areas now below the ozone standard. Some of the report highlights show that:
* the largest NOx emission reductions occurred in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Kentucky; and
* the reduction of NOx – a precursor to ground-level ozone, or smog – has helped reduce ozone concentrations an average of 10 percent in the eastern part of the country since the start of the program in 2003."

EPA Designates Areas as Attainment and Nonattainment for the 24-Hour PM2.5 National Air Quality Standards
"# On December 22, 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated areas throughout the US as "nonattainment" and "unclassifiable/attainment" for the 24-hour national air quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

# After EPA sets a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) or revises an existing NAAQS, EPA formally identifies or "designates" areas as unclassifiable/attainment (meeting the standard or expected to be meeting the standard despite a lack of monitoring data), nonattainment (not meeting the standard), or unclassifiable (insufficient data to classify).

# In making the decision to designate 211 counties or parts of counties as nonattainment, EPA carefully assessed the recommendations provided by states and tribes, as well as additional supporting information provided by states, tribes, and the public. These nonattainment areas include counties with monitors violating the standards and nearby areas that contribute to that violation. Affected states and tribes will be required to take steps to reduce the pollution that forms these particles. The majority of U.S. counties – over 3,000 – including tribal lands will not have to take additional steps to meet these standards, but will need to continue working to maintain clean air..."