The A&WMA 2007 Critical Review. Will the circle be unbroken: a history of the U.S. national ambient air quality standards

Journal Article · Fri Jun 15 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association

OSTI ID:20939441

Bachmann, John ^[1]

---

1. Vision Air Consulting, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Air & Waste Management Association, this review examines the history of air quality management (AQM) in the United States over the last century, with an emphasis on the programs established by the 1970 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments. The current CAA system is a hybrid of several distinct air pollution control philosophies. The paper looks at several periods in the history of the U.S. program, including: (1) 1900-1970, spanning the early smoke abatement and smog control programs, the first federal involvement, and the development of a hybrid AQM approach in the 1970 CAA; (2) 1971-1976, when the first National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were set and implemented; (3) 1977-1993, a period of the first revisions to the standards, new CAA Amendments, delays in implementation and decision-making, and key science/policy/legislative developments that would alter both the focus and scale of air pollution programs and how they are implemented; and (4) 1993-2006, the second and third wave of NAAQS revisions and their implementation in the context of the 1990 CAA. This discussion examines where NAAQS have helped drive implementation programs and how improvements in both effects and air quality/control sciences influenced policy and legislation to enhance the effectiveness of the system over time. The review concludes with a look toward the future of AQM, emphasizing challenges and ways to meet them. Supplemental tables 1 to 7, available to subscribers at www.awma.org/journals/pdfs/2007/6/10.3155-1047-3289.57.6.652_supplmat erial.pdf present detailed chronology and commentary on the development of criteria and establishing, reviewing, and revising the NAAQS for each of the seven pollutants that were listed and regulated under Sections 108 and 109 between 1971 and 2006. 250 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 20939441
• Journal Information: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, Journal Name: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 57; ISSN JAWAEB; ISSN 1047-3289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
AIR QUALITY
AMENDMENTS
CARBON MONOXIDE
CLEAN AIR ACTS
CLIMATIC CHANGE
COAL
COMBUSTION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
HYDROCARBONS
IMPLEMENTATION
INDUSTRY
LEAD
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OZONE
PARTICULATES
POLLUTION LAWS
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
POLLUTION SOURCES
RECOMMENDATIONS
REVIEWS
SECTORAL ANALYSIS
SMOG
SMOKES
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES
URBAN AREAS
USA
VOLATILE MATTER