The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are established by the EPA to evaluate outdoor air quality. The Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to set standards and monitor them. Six pollutants are monitored, and there are primary and secondary standards. The EPA tracks pollutant levels and issues alerts when appropriate. The goal is to prevent bad air days and hold communities accountable. Pollution in the US has decreased since the Clean Air Act.
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are parameters established by the United States Environmental Protection Administration (USEPA or EPA) to evaluate outdoor air quality. Communities that exceed the benchmarks have an air quality problem that needs to be addressed. There are a variety of ways communities can work to make the air cleaner, from passing laws to limit pollution to encouraging citizens to cut back on activities that can lead to a decline in air quality.
EPA has the authority to set national ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act, a landmark piece of legislation passed in 1963 to address pollution in the United States. It was revised in 1970 and again in 1990 to address evolving environmental issues. Under the Clean Air Act, EPA is responsible for setting standards and monitoring them, as well as issuing air quality advisories for the benefit of members of the public.
Six known pollutants are monitored with National Ambient Air Quality Standards: ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and carbon dioxide. Additionally, the EPA also monitors the levels of particulate matter in the air. These pollutants pose threats to human and environmental health, and many are generated by human activities, such as driving motor vehicles. When combined with environmental pressures such as air masses that push pollutants onto communities instead of allowing them to disperse, they can pose a significant and immediate threat to health.
There are two aspects of national environmental air quality standards. The primary standard focuses on levels of pollutants that are safe for human health, including vulnerable people, such as the elderly, children and people with respiratory diseases such as asthma. Secondary standards address public welfare issues such as visibility on roads and damage to crops. Using air quality monitors in U.S. communities, the EPA tracks pollutant levels and issues alerts when appropriate.
When air quality is extremely poor, the EPA can issue advisories to warn vulnerable members of the public of the risks. The goal of National Ambient Air Quality Standards is to prevent the occurrence of many bad air days by setting standards for communities and holding them accountable. Since the passage of the Clean Air Act, pollution in the United States has dropped dramatically, and the number of communities that cannot meet the standards is also decreasing.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
