February 24, 2009.  A federal appeals court today ruled that Bush-era clean air standards were deficient, sending them back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for corrective action. (more…)

In what could be the last major clean air policy decision of the Bush Administration, EPA is scheduled to publish its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the primary nitrogen dioxide (NO2) NAAQS in the Federal Register on January 16, 2009.  The ANPR could be signed as early as January 9, 2009. (more…)

EPA has published its first draft Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for public review and comment.  The ISA is available online.   (more…)

Do you need a scorecard to keep track of the major milestones in the EPA’s reviews of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the major pollutants?
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One of the most pressing issues facing EPA in the review of the air quality standards for particulate matter (PM) is the need to strengthen the annual average standard for fine particles. (more…)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final science assessment for sulfur dioxide (SO2) which suggests that a short-term standard will be needed to protect public health. (more…)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is embarking on a new review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone.  The Agency will hold a public kickoff workshop on October 29 - 30, 2008 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina to discuss science and science policy issues relevant to the ozone NAAQS review. (more…)

The current standard for nitrogen dioxide — an annual average standard — was set in 1971 and has not been revised since then.  In the past 35 plus years there has been a great deal of evidence pointing to the need for a short-term standard.  (more…)

The current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide were set in 1971 based on a Criteria Document published in 1969 by the Department of Health Education and Welfare. The scientific articles considered in the original Criteria Document predate 1968. In 1971, the newly established EPA set the first primary sulfur dioxide NAAQS: an annual average standard of 0.03 ppm (80 µg/m3); and a 24-hour standard of 0.14 ppm (365 µg/m3). The current standards are based on 40 plus year old science. (more…)

A draft report from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has estimated that 14,000 to 24,000 premature deaths each year are attributable to fine particle air pollution (PM2.5). (more…)