Clean Air Act of 1970

By Larry Toler and Austin Katz

Issues that led to Act• October 1948, A cloud of air pollution formed

over the town of Donora, Pennsylvania.• Cloud stayed over the town for five days.• Killed 20 people and caused sickness in

6,000 of the town’s 14,000 inhabitants.• In 1952, 3,000 people died in what came to

be known as London’s “Killer Fog.”• In 1881, Chicago and Cincinnati passed laws

to control industrial soot

Issues that led to Act

In 1952, Oregon became first state to adopt a significant program to control air pollution.

In 1967, Air Quality Act directed HEW to obtain available information on the health effects of air pollutants and to identify pollution control techniques.

The Clean Air Act The Clean Air Act is an act that provided

permanent federal air for research, support for the development of state pollution control agencies, and federal involvement in cross-boundary air pollution cases.

The Clean Air Act enacted in 1970. Established National Ambient Air Quality

Standards (NAAQSs) for six pollutants: Nitrogen dioxide Ground-level ozone Particulate matter Carbon monoxide Lead Sulfur Dioxide

The Clean Air Act

Established New Source Performance Standards (NSPSs) that would be set by the EPA.

These standards would determine the amount of air pollution allowed by new plants in various industrial sectors.

The standards were to be based off the best available retrofit technology (BART) and best available control technology (BACT.)

The Clean Air Act Establish mobile source emission standards to

control automobile emissions. These standards were specific rather than being

left to the EPA. The pollutants that were regulated were carbon

monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides.

Clean Air Act Implemented new air quality standards. Each state was told to create a state

implementation plan (SIP.) The plans of the states had to be approved by the

EPA. If a state did not have a approved plan the EPA

would administer the Clean Air Act in that state.

Impacts on Society, Groups, and the Environment Emissions were substantially lower by

1990 under the control scenario than under the no-control scenario

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were 40 percent lower

Nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions were 30 percent lower by 1990

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions were 45 percent lower

carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were 50 percent lower

Lead (Pb) emissions for 1990 were reduced by about 99 percent from a no-control level of 237,000 tons to about 3,000 tons

Impacts on Society, Groups, and the Environment The two airborne pollutants VOC and

NOX form ground level ozone which can be dangerous to people and animals.

The reductions in the two pollutants drastically reduced the amount of ground level ozone according to the 1990 study

Amendments In 1977, the Clean Air Act was amended.The amendments in 1977 dealt with

nonattainment, auto emissions, and the prevention of air quality deterioration in areas where the air was already relatively clean.

For nonattainment and auto emissions penalties were merely increased.

PSD programs were created in response to the Sierra Club to determine the amount of air deterioration allowed to take place in different areas based on their classification.

Amendments In 1990, the Clean Air Act was amended. Substantially increased the authority and

responsibility of the federal government. The amendments dealt with four major issues: Acid rain Toxic air pollutants Nonattainment areas Ozone layer depletion

FailuresTougher restrictions on

upwind power plants are needed in order to reduce acid rain.

Does not include all possible air pollutants in its standards.

DebateThe Clean Air Act does not go

far enough in ensuring air quality and needs to be amended to include more types of air pollutants.

The standards set forth in the Clean Air Act are strict and not cost efficient for business.

Bibliography Bortman, Marci, et al. Enviromental Encyclopedia.

N.p.: Gale, 2003. Print. Enviromental Protection Agency. Untied States

Envirometal Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/ air/ caa/>.

Mongillo, John, and Linda Zierdt-Warshaw. Encyclopedia of Enviromental Science. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.