Once more, with compliance. [Regulation of toxic air pollutants]
Airborne toxic pollution, by volume the largest source of human exposure to toxic chemicals and therefore one of the most serious public-health hazards we face, has gone virtually uncontrolled for 17 years. The EPA, even when it has wanted to act, has become paralyzed in bureaucratic, legal, and scientific processes. Attempts to regulate chemical pollution by source have yielded little protection but a significant administrative burden. In some cases the goal of providing an ample margin of safety to protect the public health is impossible. There is a better approach, one being advocated this year by the Sierra Club and the National Clean Air Coalition as Congress reviews the Clean Air Act. Simply put, this new approach would require the EPA to set standards for classes of pollutants as opposed to individual chemicals. These classes would include such groupings a volatile organic compounds, toxic metals, and products of incomplete combustion. Instead of thousands of regulations, the EPA would set a few hundred. With a smaller number of decisions required, each one protecting the public against a much larger portion of the total problem, the control of air toxics could finally, and efficiently, begin.
- OSTI ID:
- 6806784
- Journal Information:
- Sierra; (United States), Journal Name: Sierra; (United States) Vol. 72:5; ISSN SIERE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
500600* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Regulations-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
AIR QUALITY
CLEAN AIR ACT
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
LAWS
MATERIALS
METALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
REGULATIONS
STANDARDS
TOXIC MATERIALS
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS