The Clean Air Act and its Implications for Training Requisite Personnel

The Clean Air Act, Public Law 88-206, was signed into law on December 17, 1963. Among the new provisions was the authorization given to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to award grants for the support of State and local air pollution control programs. The Chief, Division of Air Pollution, then requested the Surgeon General’s Air Pollution Training Committee to make recommendations for the most effective way to train the required numbers of people. The Committee called a special three-day meeting at Airlie House with about 30 consultants. Recommendations for training stemming from the meeting included: (1) University-based programs combined with practical experience in control program. (2) Criteria for the selection of trainees. (3) The outline of a model program. These recommendations were submitted to the Chief, Division of Air Pollution and are currently reflected in the activation of one program and a request to the Congress for funds to initiate two more such programs during Fiscal Year 1966.     

A Status Report: Air Pollution Control in Australia

All but one of the Australian States now have legislation to control Air Pollution. These are similar in broad principle and rely upon the system of prior approval and the use of emission limits. At the present time Victoria is the only State with legislation providing for the recycling of crankcase vent gases on motor cars. Methods being used to control pollution and future outlook and needs are discussed. At least 65 per cent of the crude oil requirements should be met by indigenous low sulfur oil by 1975. This fact and the imminent supply of natural gas to the four major cities and to the centers of heavy industrial development should result in a marked reduction in sulfur dioxide concentrations. A major outstanding problem is the lack of air pollution considerations in planning at regional and local government levels.     

Current Trends in Federal Interagency Relations Concerning Air Pollution

Under the first Federal Air Pollution Act of 1955, which assigned the responsibility for developing a national program to the Public Health Service, a significant phase of the program involved other federal agencies through a series of contractual relationships. These interdepartmental relationships were limited however, to the objective of capitalizing on the diverse research facilities and specialized competencies within the federal establishment, as a means of accelerating the research and technical assistance program authorized under the act. With the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1963, a major new emphasis has been added to the federal air pollution control program—application of technical knowledge, through broadly accelerated control programs. This emphasis is reflected in current trends in the nature and type of the Public Health Service’s developing relationships with other federal agencies. The emerging PHS programs to prevent and control air pollution from federal facilities, the PHS role in preventing pollution arising from transportation systems aided under the new Urban Mass Transportation Act, and other developing interagency relationships and problem areas are discussed in this context.     

Product Guide/1969

The Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association presents its second animal directory of air pollution products. This 11-page guide lists manufacturers of emission control equipment and air pollution instrumentation under product classifications which are shown below. These classifications are derived from McGraw-Hill’s Air Pollution Handbook, chapters 10, 11, and 13. The final portion of this guide contains an alphabetical listing of manufacturers.If any manufacturers or product categories have been inadvertently overlooked, the omission is regretted and should be brought to the attention of the editor. It will result in a more complete and accurate Product Guide/1970 to be published next December.     

Reactive nitrogen and public policies for environmental protection

A core goal of both US and European pollution control policies has been to establish rules and regulations pertaining to the movement of reactive-nitrogen (Nr) through the environment. This is manifest in US federal legislation such as the Clean Air Act Amendments and the Clean Water Act Amendments and in various protocols of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and its Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). In this paper, we begin by reviewing the two US laws and their effectiveness and make some comparisons with the approaches used mainly in Europe by the UNECE and CLRTAP. Next we use the Mississippi drainage/Gulf of Mexico hypoxia case study to highlight the importance of applying a "systems approach" to address the reactive nitrogen problem at the regional scale. After briefly posing a number of unanswered questions related to nitrogen control policies, we conclude by sketching a blueprint for future actions related to the development of improved policies to regulate reactive nitrogen.     

Product Guide/1972

The Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association presents its fifth annual directory of air pollution products. This 14-page guide lists manufacturers of emission control equipment and air pollution instrumentation under product classifications which are shown below. These classifications are derived from McGraw-Hill’s Air Pollution Handbook, chapters 10, 11, and 13 . The final portion of this guide contains an alphabetical listing of manufacturers.

If any manufacturers or product categories have been inadvertently overlooked, the omission is regretted and should be brought to the attention of the editor. It will result in a more complete and accurate Product Guide/1973 to be published next December.     

The Province of Ontario’s Air Pollution Control Program

The Province passed an Air Pollution Control Act in 1958 which delegated control of all types of air pollution to the municipalities. This was amended in 1963 with the Province assuming control of industrial sources of air pollution and the municipalities retaining control of combustion sources. The paper outlines the comprehensive program adopted by the Province. It points out that while control is a primary function, other functions such as ambient air quality sampling, the collection of micro meteorological data, co-operation with other governmental agencies in agriculture, planning and zoning, economics and development, and water pollution are a vital part of the program. In light of the experience to date, an attempt is made to predict the organization necessary for the future.     

“The Clean Air Act — A Time for Evaluation”

The Third Government Affairs Seminar sponsored by the Air Pollution Control Association was held in Washington, D. C. on April 16-17, 1975. The APCA South Atlantic Section was host for this very successful meeting. The General Chairman of the Seminar Committee was John V. Brink and the Program Chairman was Richard D. Grundy.

The seminar this year was conducted in three sessions. The first session, entitled “The Clean Air Act: State vs Federal Roles,” considered a topic that is receiving increasing emphasis as the national air pollution control program matures. This discussion was chaired by M. Barry Meyer, Chief Counsel and Chief Clerk, Senate Committee on Public Works.

The second session was “Land Use Planning Aspects of the Clean Air Act—Federal, State and Regional Roles.” Mrs. Mary Jane Due, Chairman of the Public Land and Land Use Committee, Natural Resources Section, American Bar Association, served as Moderator of this discussion of indirect source regulations, no significant deterioration, air quality maintenance—concepts that rely heavily on comprehensive land use planning.

“Clean Air Priorities—The Need for Flexibility,” was the title of the third session which was chaired by Austin H. Phelps, Manager Corporate Air Pollution Control, Procter and Gamble Company and President of APCA. The panelists considered the question of how appropriate the standard setting mechanisms of the Clean Air Act are for the resolution of present and future problems.

In this report condensed versions of the prepared statements of the participants are presented. A more extensive summary of the Proceedings, which includes questions and answers, is available from APCA headquarters. The remarks of John R. Quarles, EPA Deputy Administrator, who was the luncheon speaker, were summarized in the June APCA Journal(p. 642).     

The Crisis in Air Pollution Manpower Development

There is a crisis in air pollution manpower development within the United States today. This is the conclusion drawn from a series of three studies recently conducted by the National Air Pollution Manpower Development Advisory Committee. These studies, designed to define the essential components of a total manpower development program and to evaluate current efforts on specific segments of such a program, showed that the existing Federal manpower program fails to address many of the problem areas needing attention, that greater effort needs to be directed to meeting the air pollution educational requirements of State highway departments and planning agencies, and that the quality of most graduate level university programs in air pollution control is on the decline because of the withdrawal of Federal financial support.     

Effects of ambient air pollution on glycosylated hemoglobin: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental health problems in the world; accumulative studies have shown that air pollution was closely related...     

Review of Statistics of Extreme Values with Applications to Air Quality Data

In the field of air pollution control, the rare event is often of more significance than the common event. This is evidenced by the content of air quality standards which define acceptable upper limits of air pollution concentrations and acceptable frequencies with which such concentrations can be exceeded. The principles of extreme value statistics provide important tools for analyzing air quality data in an appropriately significant context.

Part II of the paper presents applications of the theory to air quality data. First, application is made to decisions regarding the length of air monitoring experiments and the length of data records for dis-person analyses. The theory is then applied to the analysis of long term air pollution data collected by the South Coast Air Pollution Control District. The interrelations between extremes from monthly and annual samples are noted and are shown to be consistent with theory.     

Six air pollutants and cause-specific mortality: a multi-area study in nine counties or districts of Anhui Province,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Air pollution and its negative effects on health of people have been a global concern. Many studies had found a strong association between air...     

Data Analysis Procedures for the Ozone NAAQS Statistical Format

The Clear Air Act of 1970 established the authority to control hazardous air pollutants. Section 112 of the legislation requires the Administrator to publish, and from time to time revise, a list of hazardous air pollutants for which he intends to establish emission standards, and to establish emission standards for those pollutants. These national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants are commonly referred to as “NESHAP” standards. All of the NESHAP that have been promulgated as of April 1984 are summarized in the table which accompanies this article. Two types of references are included in the table. The first reference identifies the issue of the Federal Register in which the NESHAP is explained in detail. The second reference identifies the background information document (BID) which contains the technical and economic information developed to support the NESHAP.     

Product Guide/1979

The Product Guide series which appears in the Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association and the APCA Directory and Resource Book is a computer-based program. A questionnaire form provided entry into the program for responding manufacturers of emission control equipment and air pollution instrumentation. If any manufacturers or product categories have been overlooked, the omission is regretted and should be brought to the attention of the editor, JAPCA.     

Product Guid/1977

The Product Guide series which appears in the Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association and the APCA Directory and Resource Book is a computer-based program. A questionnaire form provided entry into the program for responding manufacturers of emission control equipment and air pollution instrumentation. If any manufacturers or product categories have been overlooked, the omission is regretted and should be brought to the attention of the editor, JAPCA.     

EPA’s Clean Air Act Operating Permit Rules

Title V of the Clean Air Act requires tens of thousands of air pollution sources to obtain an operating permit incorporating all applicable requirements under the Act. EPA recently promulgated its controversial Title V regulations, which establish the minimum elements for state permit programs.

The new permit system is among the most important changes made by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, and will significantly alter the way companies comply with air pollution requirements. Previously, the Act only required certain sources to obtain a new source review permit before constructing or modifying the facility (although many states established operating permit systems on their own). Now, all states must adopt operating permit programs consistent with the minimum federal requirements, and submit them to EPA by November 1993. Even though EPA has established minimum requirements, these programs are likely to vary widely from state to state.     

Air quality management: evolution of policy and practice in the UK as exemplified by the experience of English local government

The air quality management (AQM) framework in the UK is designed to be an effects-based solution to air pollutants currently affecting human health. The AQM process has been legislated through The Environment Act 1995, which required the National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) to be published. AQM practice and capability within local authorities has flourished since the publication of the NAQS in March 1997. This paper outlines the policy framework within which the UK operates, both at a domestic and European level, and reviews the air quality management process relating to current UK policy and EU policy. Data from questionnaire surveys are used to indicate the involvement of various sectors of local government in the air quality management process. These data indicate an increasing use of monitoring, and use of air dispersion modelling by English local authorities. Data relating to the management of air quality, for example, the existence and work of air quality groups, dissemination of information to the public and policy measures in place on a local scale to improve air quality, have also been reported. The UK NAQS has been reviewed in 1999 to reflect developments in European legislation, technological and scientific advances, improved air pollution modelling techniques and an increasingly better understanding of the socio-economic issues involved. The AQM process, as implemented by UK local authorities, provides an effective model for other European member states with regards to the implementation of the Air Quality Framework Directive. The future direction of air quality policy in the UK is also discussed.     

Modelling and mapping long-term risks due to reactive nitrogen effects: an overview of LRTAP convention activities

Long-range transboundary air pollution has caused severe environmental effects in Europe. European air pollution abatement policy, in the framework of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) and the European Union Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme, has used critical loads and their exceedances by atmospheric deposition to design emission abatement targets and strategies. The LRTAP Convention International Cooperative Programme on Modelling and Mapping Critical Loads and Levels and Air Pollution Effects, Risks and Trends (ICP M&M) generates European critical loads datasets to enable this work. Developing dynamic nitrogen flux models and using them for a prognosis and assessment of nitrogen effects remains a challenge. Further research is needed on links between nitrogen deposition effects, climate change, and biodiversity.     

Industrial Responsibilities in and Advantages from the Control of Air Pollution

The requirements for public participation in air pollution control programs have been significantly increased by the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments. This paper is directed to state and local agency officials, to assist them in carrying out these responsibilities under the Act. The changes in the Act and the guidelines that have been issued pursuant to these new provisions are summarized. The elements of an effective public participation program are described. The current status of public participation in state implementation plan revision programs is reported.     

Consultant Guide/1979

The Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association presents its tenth directory of air pollution control consultants. This 17-page guide lists individual consultants and firms who have indicated a capability in this field by responding to a questionnaire published in the Journal.

Areas of competence are shown as categories within five geographical regions. Two new areas of competence, Monitoring and Modeling, have been added to the program for Consultant Guide/1979. Any certifications granted by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE), American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) and the Board for Certified Consulting Meteorologists (BCCM) are shown adjacent to the phone number in the alphabetical listing.

The Air Pollution Control Association makes no representation regarding the competence of the consultants listed nor does it accept any responsibility for their performance as consultants.