EPA Issues Guidance On Ozone, Particulates Rules

Abstract

A baby born today will be heading off to college by the time the new national ambient air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter are fully implemented. By the time the baby's parents decide how to redecorate the extra bedroom, the standards, designed to alleviate asthma in children and pulmonary disease in the elderly, will have likely been reviewed—and maybe changed—two more times. So far, the final target date for compliance with the new particulate standard is 2017. At least that's the scenario based on the latest guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency, which in July 1997 revised the national ambient air quality standards for ground-level ozone and airborne particulate matter. These guidelines give states and other affected entities information on how and when the standards will go into effect. Ozone at ground level is the primary constituent of smog. It is a respiratory irritant and causes harm to some crops. Unlike other ...