Air pollution policy

DEFINITION: High-level governmental plan of action for establishing and maintaining acceptable air quality and regulating individual air pollutants

Laws and regulatory agencies establish air-pollution policy to control human-generated pollutants that can have negative impacts on human life and health, ecosystems, and global processes such as stratospheric ozone replenishment. Regulatory policy typically seeks to control pollutants by setting ambient air-quality standards, limiting allowable emissions, and requiring the use of specific pollution-control technologies.

The Clean Air Act, passed by the US Congress in 1963, laid the foundation for what some consider to be the most progressive, wide-reaching, and complicated environmental cleanup legislation in the world. When the Clean Air Act and other early federal, state, and local clean air laws proved to be relatively ineffective, several sweeping amendments to the laws were enacted.

The groundbreaking 1970 amendments to the Clean Air Act resulted in emissions standards for automobiles and new industries in addition to establishing air-quality standards for urban areas. Devised through an exceptionally cooperative bipartisan effort, the 1970 amendments were proclaimed by President Richard M. Nixon to be a “historic piece of legislation” that put the United States “far down the road” toward achieving cleaner air. The amendments established specific maximum levels for several hazardous substances, and the individual states were charged with developing comprehensive plans to implement and maintain these standards.

Tightly controlled scientific methodology was used for the first time to assess and determine acceptable levels for public and environmental health for six “priority air pollutants”: carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, respirable particulate matter, ground-level ozone, and lead. Emission standards for air-pollution sources such as automobiles, factories, and power plants were established that also limited the of air pollutants in geographical areas where air quality was already acceptable, thus preventing its deterioration.

The major Clean Air Act amendments of 1970 also stimulated many states to pass regional and local air-pollution legislation, with some areas eventually passing laws that later proved to be even more stringent than federally established guidelines. During this period, the newly created U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began strongly suggesting the tightening of rules regulating the amount of lead that could be added to gasoline, a significant source of lead poisoning in urban children and young adults, thus laying the groundwork for the future elimination of all leaded gasolines. Many sectors of the business challenged the wording of some of the 1970 amendments, arguing that the language was vague and required clarification, particularly regarding the deterioration of air quality in areas that were already meeting federal standards.

Milestones in Air-Pollution Policy

YearEvent1963The Clean Air Act sets aside $95 million to reduce in the United States.1970The Environmental Protection Agency is established to enforce environmental legislation.1970Clean Air Act amendments establish stricter air-quality standards.1977Additional Clean Air Act amendments extend compliance deadlines established by the 1970 amendments and allow the EPA to bring civil lawsuits against companies that do not meet air-quality standards.1979The United Nations sponsors the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, which is designed to reduce and air pollution.1987The is signed by twenty-four nations pledging to reduce the output of ozone-depleting .1990Clean Air Act amendments increase regulations on emissions that cause acid rain and and also establish a system of pollution permits.1997The Environmental Protection Agency issues updated air-quality standards.1998 California institutes tougher emission control standards for new cars; other states follow with similar laws.2003Proposed Clear Skies Act is designed to amend the Clean Air Act with a cap-and-trade system.2005EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) begins a cap-and-trade program to keep air pollution generated in one state from rendering other states noncompliant with air-quality standards.2008A federal appeals court rules that CAIR exceeds the EPA's regulatory authority but later orders temporary reinstatement.2009The EPA officially finds that the greenhouse gases methane, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, , perfluorocarbons, and constitute a threat to the public health and welfare.2010The American Lung Association reports that about 58 percent of Americans endure unhealthy air-pollution levels.2010The EPA replaces CAIR with the Transport Rule, requiring eastern states to decrease power plant emissions severely by 2014.

1977 Amendments

The 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act were stimulated by growing public and government awareness of the necessity for further clarification of standards and the increased knowledge that came from a decade of scientific pollution-control research. Industrial areas that were in violation of air-quality standards, called nonattainment areas, were allowed to expand their factories or build new ones only if the new sources achieved the lowest possible rates. Additionally, other sources of under the same ownership in the same state were required to comply with pollution-control provisions, and unavoidable emissions had to be offset by pollution reductions by other companies within the same region. These emissions-offset policies forced new industries within geographical regions to make formal requests that existing local companies reduce their pollution production; such situations often resulted in new companies paying the considerable expense of new emissions-control devices for existing companies.

Protection of air quality in regions that were already meeting federal standards sparked congressional debate, as many environmentalists asserted that existing air-quality standards gave some industries a theoretical license to pollute the air up to permitted levels. Rules for the “prevention of significant deterioration” within areas that already met clean air standards were set for sulfur oxides and particulates in 1977, and many individual experts and organizations lobbied for the inclusion of other pollutants, such as ozone, the chief component of smog.

A final major change mandated by the 1977 amendments was the strengthening of the authority of the EPA to enforce laws by allowing the agency to use civil lawsuits in addition to the criminal lawsuits that were previously required. Civil lawsuits have the advantage of not carrying the burden-of-proof requirements needed for criminal convictions; this legal dilemma previously motivated violating companies to take part in lengthy legal battles, as the legal costs were lower than the costs of purchasing and maintaining the necessary pollution-control devices. The EPA was also empowered to levy noncompliance penalties without having to file lawsuits, using the argument that violators have an unfair business advantage over competitors that are currently complying with established legislation. Additionally, several “right-to-know” laws went into effect beginning in 1985 that required manufacturing plant managers to make health and safety information regarding toxic materials available to current and prospective employees, business partners, and sponsors.

1990 Amendments

In 1990 the Clean Air Act was further amended to address inadequacies in previous amendments, with major changes including the establishment of standards and attainment deadlines for 190 toxic chemicals. The amendments were approved through the same kind of bipartisan effort as the one that resulted in the 1970 amendments, prompting President George H. W. Bush to state that the new legislation moved society much closer toward the clean air that “every American expects and deserves.”

The 1990 amendments established a market-based measure for pollution taxes on toxic chemical emissions, thus enhancing the incentive for businesses to comply as quickly as possible. Emissions standards were tightened for automobiles, and mileage standards for new vehicles were raised; these provisions attacked the pollution problem at its center by prompting numerous significant steps toward improved fuel efficiency. Notable results of these measures included significant reductions in vehicular emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide (50 percent), carbon monoxide (70 percent), and other harmful substances (20 percent).

The 1990 amendments also established market-based incentives to reduce nitrogen and sulfur oxides because of their role in the growing controversy regarding acid deposition within rainwater. The EPA was empowered to create tradable permits that stipulated permissible emissions levels for nitrogen and sulfur oxides. The permits were issued to U.S. companies that had emission rates lower than those set by current requirements for the improvement of air quality. This landmark legislation enabled companies that implemented innovative and cost-effective means to reduce air pollution to sell their unused credits to other companies.

Other significant legislation passed within or assisted by the 1990 amendments included the beginning of the phasing out of numerous ozone-depleting chemicals and the implementation of strategies that would help sustain the environment. Discovery of a seasonal “ozone hole” over Antarctica in 1985 had sparked international concern regarding the state of the earth’s and its ability to continue to shield the planet’s surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Many businesses complained that the considerable additional expenses associated with implementing these new laws created unnecessary burdens for industry that in many cases outweighed the potential environmental benefits. In some cases, this economic pressure merely transferred environmental problems elsewhere, with many businesses choosing to operate outside the United States, in countries with less stringent environmental requirements.

Another important clause in the 1990 amendments required the EPA to regulate emissions coming from solid incinerators, including incinerators used for disposal of medical waste. Medical waste incinerators are among the largest sources of airborne and mercury, which are widely believed to contribute to serious health problems.

Subsequent Developments

President Bill Clinton continued tightening acceptable levels of smog and in the United States but did begin allowing flexible methods for reaching these improved goals over a ten-year period. This marked a significant change from the earlier administration of President Ronald Reagan, which proposed a relaxation of environmental standards to favor industrial and technological interests. Clinton is credited with associating the problem of controlling fossil-fuel emissions with the threat of global warming, an issue that would undergo considerable debate within the United Nations and elsewhere for years to come. A 1990 amendment requiring the use of gasoline containing 2 percent oxygen by weight in regions classified as being in severe or extreme nonattainment for the federal ozone standard was followed by several state-level requirements.

The clean air changes of 1990 led the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to introduce the country’s most stringent vehicle emissions quality controls to date later that year. Under the state’s ambitious program, 2 percent of all new cars sold in California in 1998 were to have pollution-control devices that released no environmentally harmful emissions at all, and the figure was required to rise to 10 percent by 2003. These monumental state laws also dictated that the hydrocarbon emissions of all new cars sold in California be at least 70 percent less than those sold in 1993 by the year 2003. Thirteen northeastern states later passed similar, but somewhat less rigorous, laws; only New York retained the 2 percent goal.

Given 1990s technology, the CARB standards were in effect a mandate for the automobile industry to develop battery-powered electric vehicles. However, automakers failed to mass-produce cost-effective, high-performance, battery-powered electric vehicles soon enough to meet regulatory requirements. When California adjusted its requirements in response to this slow progress, the result was a lowering of pressure on the auto industry to meet regulatory demands through innovation. By the early years of the twenty-first century, zero-emission vehicles had yet to become an industry standard, but low-emission vehicles such as hybrids had become commonplace, bringing the industry closer to realizing those goals.

During President George W. Bush’s administration, the Clear Skies Act of 2003 sought to amend the Clean Air Act with a cap-and-trade system. The controversial bill was never enacted, but measures from it were included in the EPA’s 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), a cap-and-trade program to keep air pollution generated in one state from rendering another state noncompliant with air-quality standards.

In July 2008, a federal appeals court ruled that CAIR exceeded the EPA’s regulatory authority, but five months later the court ordered a temporary reinstatement until the EPA could develop a satisfactory replacement rule. A proposed replacement, known as the Transport Rule, was issued in July 2010. The Transport Rule was intended to improve air quality in the eastern United States through a decrease in power plant emissions in thirty-one states and the District of Columbia. It required that, by 2014, power plants reduce their sulfur dioxide emissions by 71 percent and their nitrogen oxides emissions by 52 percent. Each state was to meet firm emissions requirements by 2014, which left room for only limited trading of pollution credits. The EPA estimated that the rule, if implemented, could prevent 14,000 to 36,000 premature deaths per year, as well as hundreds of thousands of cases of upper respiratory illness. However, the courts stayed the rule in 2011. The EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which limited interstate transport of emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide was to be phased in beginning in 2015. The EPA finalized another air quality plan, the Good Neighbor Plan, in 2023. The goal was to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from industrial facilities and power plants; such emissions can have significant impact beyond the borders of the states in which they are produced. However, on June 27, 2024, the US Supreme Court stayed the Good Neighbor plan pending judicial review. Analysts said the opinion in Ohio v. EPA was the latest in a series of examples of the court's erosion of the EPA's power to protect the environment.

In late 2009 the EPA issued findings that current and projected atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) methane, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride constitute a threat to the public health and welfare. While this EPA action did not impose regulatory requirements, it paved the way for the agency to finalize GHG emissions standards for new motor vehicles, which contribute to atmospheric GHG concentrations. The EPA also proposed GHG emissions thresholds that would define whether Clean Air Act permits for such emissions are required. These thresholds would target the nation’s largest stationary sources, such as power plants, refineries, and cement production facilities, but would not affect small businesses and farms. This proposed rule became the focus of a host of legal challenges.

Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air pollution began to receive serious public attention in the United States in the wake of the 1970s energy crisis. Interest in conserving energy drove changes in the construction of new buildings, and the retrofitting of old ones, aimed at retaining desired indoor temperatures. Making structures more airtight meant that air contaminants were also retained indoors. By the late 1980s, enough cases had emerged of people experiencing discomfort or various debilitating health problems—chronic respiratory issues, sinus infections, sore throats, headaches, and more—as a result of time spent in particular buildings that the phenomenon had been dubbed Sick building syndrome (SBS). The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has estimated that 30 to 70 million American workers are affected by SBS, although the vast majority do not suffer serious health problems as a result of exposure.

With most Americans spending more than 90 percent of their lives working, learning, and spending leisure time indoors, indoor air quality has the potential to have profound impacts on the population’s health. Despite this fact, no comprehensive federal legislation has addressed indoor air quality in the United States; rather, various federal and state regulatory standards address indoor air quality by focusing on specific pollutants, activities, types of structures, and ventilation standards. Both California and New Jersey had indoor air regulations.

Common indoor air pollutants include (a natural of uranium in soil or rock), tobacco smoke, asbestos, formaldehyde, biological contaminants (such as mold and mildew), combustion products (such as carbon monoxide), cleansers and other household products, and pesticides. A number of federal and state laws address asbestos, including the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which gives the EPA broad authority to control the production, distribution, and disposal of potentially hazardous chemicals. Under TSCA, federal standards have also been established for the amount of formaldehyde (a chemical present in many adhesives, resins, and solvents) allowable in composite wood-based products

Other legislation, such as the 1976 Consumer Product Safety Act, has granted federal and state authority over consumer products that are potentially dangerous to public health and the environment, with many products that generate falling under that jurisdiction. For example, carbon monoxide and other hazardous combustion products can be emitted by stoves, and formaldehyde can outgas from plywood and textiles.

Developing countries have different problems related to indoor air pollution than do the United States and other developed nations. In comparison with developed nations, developing nations generally have fewer and less restrictive environmental regulations in place, and indoor air pollution in these nations is less likely to be caused by the airtightness of buildings than by the use of substances indoors that can be harmful. For example, wood, dung, and crop residues are primary sources of cooking and heating fuels in many developing nations, and these can generate unhealthful air pollutants when burned. The United Nations is involved in various efforts to address the problem of indoor air pollution in developing nations.

Air Quality

In July 1997, the EPA issued updated air-quality standards following the most complete scientific review process in the history of the organization. Based on the findings of this review, which was conducted by hundreds of internationally recognized scientists, industry experts, and public health officials, major steps were taken toward the improvement of environmental and public health through the revision of ozone standards for the first time in twenty years. In addition, annual standards for fine particulate matter were introduced. (Short-term standards for coarse and fine particulates had been in place for a decade. Short-term standards that applied specifically to fine particulates were not introduced until 2006.) The EPA’s 1997 study concluded that many previously imposed standards were not resulting in enough protection for the environment and public health. Data indicated that repeated exposure to pollutants at levels previously considered to be acceptable could cause permanent lung damage in children and in adults who regularly exercise and work outdoors in many urban environments.

The EPA regularly reviews national air-quality standards for the Clean Air Act’s six priority air pollutants. Between 1990 and 2008, the Clean Air Act and its supporting legislation enabled national emissions reductions of 78 percent for lead, 14 percent for ozone, 68 percent for carbon monoxide, 35 percent for nitrogen dioxide, 59 percent for sulfur dioxide, and 31 percent for respirable particulates. According to one study, between 1980 and 2000, the reduction in particle pollution alone increased life expectancy in fifty-one cities in the United States by an average of five months. Thanks to control programs for chemical plants, dry cleaners, ovens, incinerators, and mobile sources, total emissions of toxic air pollutants decreased by approximately 40 percent between 1990 and 2005. Haze and acid precipitation were also on the decline.

Despite the progress that has been made, air pollution remains a critical environmental in the United States. In 2008, thirty-one areas in the United States failed to meet ambient air-quality standards for ozone, eighteen areas failed to meet standards for particulates, and two failed to meet the standard for lead. In 2024, the American Lung Association reported that approximately 39 percent of the nation’s was continuing to experience unhealthy air-pollution levels. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic lower respiratory diseases were the sixth leading cause of death in the United States in 2022. The asthma death rate for children under nineteen years old increased by nearly 80 percent between 1980 and 2001. In the 2020s, more than three hundred people younger than twenty-four years of age died from asthma annually, while asthma caused more than three thousand adult deaths a year.

On the international level, a 1987 United Nations conference held in Canada saw twenty-four nations agree to guidelines established to protect the ozone layer through the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. The Montreal Protocol, which by 2024 had been ratified by all 197 countries and amended several times, provides a framework for the phaseout of certain ozone-depleting compounds and includes a mechanism through which developed nations can aid developing countries in making this transition. The United States has also accepted several of the protocols of the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, an international agreement that addresses the impacts of air-pollution migration across political boundaries. These protocols include those concerning reduction strategies for emissions of nitrogen oxides, cadmium, lead, mercury, sulfur, volatile compounds, and ammonia.

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