Air Pollution in USA, Facts and Figures

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Air Pollution in USA, Facts and Figures
by \| 19-03-2014 22:14 0
Air pollutants are a fact of modern life. The best guess is that between 100 and 200 million tons of man-made air pollutants are released each year into the atmosphere in the United States. According to U.S. EPA?s ?Latest Findings on National Air Quality: 2000 Status and Trends?, over 160 million tons of pollution are emitted into the air each year in the United States. As society has become more industrialized, laws regulating air pollution have become more intense. Before 1955 only smoke laws existed. The U.S. Clean Air Amendments of 1967 and 1970 established maximum limits, or standards, for several major air pollutants. Two standards are applied to each pollutant: The primary standard, which protects human health, and the secondary standard, which protects human welfare–principally plants and human structures. The clean air legislation also established federal and state environmental protection agencies (EPAs) and pollution control boards to monitor pollutant concentrations and enforce the air quality standards. For example, the Illinois EPA operates monitors for ozone and sulfur dioxide, the two most common plant-damaging pollutants, in 23 of the state?s 102 counties. As a result, aggregate emissions of six principal pollutants tracked nationally have been cut 29 percent since 1970. Despite this progress, ground-level ozone levels in the southern and north central states have actually worsened in the past 10 years.

Dormant user

5 Comments

says :
@ Barbara there are many solutions to solve this problem. I am reading literature about it and my other post would be about its solution and management......
@Arushi and Christy thanks for your valuable comments and appreciation.
Posted 21-03-2014 19:25

says :
@Farooq, Thank you for the article Farooq.
@Barbara, in Korea, the government encourages the use of natural gas which emits much lesser pollutant into the air. After the policy change, the air quality in urban areas got significantly improved. I think it can be one of the solution. :)
Posted 21-03-2014 13:51

Arushi Madan says :
Thanks for highlighting a matter of grave concern. Indeed air pollution has become a necessary product of industrialization. With industrialised world , factories continue to emit smoke but I guess Economic strategies can be put in place like charging the party responsible for the pollution(some countries do have these policies). This needs government bodies , top management of factories and environment agencies to sit and brainstorm to arrive at air quaility management strategies.

Posted 20-03-2014 17:32

says :
Do you foresee any solutions to this problem Farooq? How do we run the industries and reduce these huge levels of pollution?
Posted 20-03-2014 14:53