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Regulations and Other Toxics
Programs |
What are toxic air pollutants?
Toxic air pollutants, also known as hazardous
air pollutants, are those pollutants that are known or suspected
to cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive
effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental effects. EPA
is working with state, local, and tribal governments to reduce air
toxics releases of 188 pollutants
to the environment. Examples of toxic air pollutants include benzene,
which is found in gasoline; perchlorethlyene, which is emitted from
some dry cleaning facilities; and methylene chloride, which is used
as a solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries. Examples
of other listed air toxics include dioxin, asbestos, toluene, and
metals such as cadmium, mercury, chromium, and lead compounds.
What are the health and environmental
effects of toxic air pollutants?
People exposed to toxic air pollutants at sufficient
concentrations and durations may have an increased chance of getting
cancer or experiencing other serious health effects. These health
effects can include damage to the immune system, as well as neurological,
reproductive (e.g., reduced fertility), developmental, respiratory
and other health problems. In addition to exposure from breathing
air toxics, some toxic air pollutants such as mercury can deposit
onto soils or surface waters, where they are taken up by plants
and ingested by animals and are eventually magnified up through
the food chain. Like humans, animals may experience health problems
if exposed to sufficient quantities of air toxics over time.
Where do toxic air pollutants come from?
Most air toxics originate from human-made sources,
including mobile sources (e.g., cars, trucks, buses) and stationary
sources (e.g., factories, refineries, power plants), as well as
indoor sources (e.g., some building materials and cleaning solvents).
Some air toxics are also released from natural sources such as volcanic
eruptions and forest fires.
How are people exposed to air toxics?
People are exposed to toxic air pollutants
in many ways that can pose health risks, such as by:
- Breathing contaminated air.
- Eating contaminated food products, such as fish from contaminated
waters; meat, milk, or eggs from animals that fed on contaminated
plants; and fruits and vegetables grown in contaminated soil on
which air toxics have been deposited.
- Drinking water contaminated by toxic air pollutants.
- Ingesting contaminated soil. Young children are especially vulnerable
because they often ingest soil from their hands or from objects
they place in their mouths.
- Touching (making skin contact with) contaminated soil, dust,
or water (for example, during recreational use of contaminated
water bodies).
Once toxic air pollutants enter the body, some
persistent toxic air pollutants accumulate in body tissues. Predators
typically accumulate even greater pollutant concentrations than
their contaminated prey. As a result, people and other animals at
the top of the food chain who eat contaminated fish or meat are
exposed to concentrations that are much higher than the concentrations
in the water, air, or soil.
Can I find out about the toxics in my
community?
- National Air Toxics Assessment
-- This site provides emissions and health risk information on
33 air toxics that present the greatest threat to public health
in the largest number of urban areas. Maps and lists are available
and can be requested by state or county level.
- Toxics Release Inventory
-- This database includes information for the public about releases
of toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities into the environment
through the air, water, and land. You can access the data by typing
in your zip code.
What progress has EPA made in reducing
toxic emissions?
- Controls for industrial and commercial sources of toxics
-- EPA has issued rules covering over 80 categories of major industrial
sources, such as chemical plants, oil refineries, aerospace manufacturers,
and steel mills, as well as categories of smaller sources, such
as dry cleaners, commercial sterilizers, secondary lead smelters,
and chromium electroplating facilities. These standards are projected
to reduce annual air toxics emissions by about 1.5 million tons.
For more information about these rules, see
Taking Toxics Out of the Air.
- Controls for cars and trucks -- EPA and state governments
(e.g., California) have reduced emissions of benzene, toluene,
and other air toxics from mobile sources by requiring the use
of reformulated gasoline and placing limits on tailpipe emissions.
Important new controls for fuels and vehicles are expected to
reduce selected motor vehicle air toxics from 1990 levels by more
than 75% by 2020. For more information, see Mobile
Source Air Toxics.
- Indoor air -- EPA, in close cooperation with other Federal
agencies and the private sector, is actively involved in efforts
to better understand indoor air pollution and to reduce people's
exposure to air pollutants in offices, homes, schools, and other
indoor environments. For more information, see Indoor
Air Quality.
Health and ecological effects resources
- The Health Effects Notebook
for Hazardous Air Pollutants -- Detailed information about
the health effects of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) is available
in separate fact sheets, for nearly every HAP specified in the
Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
- Mercury -- Learn more about mercury
and what is being done to protect your health.
- Air Pollution and Health Risk
-- Find out how we know when a risk from a hazardous substance
is serious. Learn how researchers estimate risk, and how the government
uses this information to develop regulations that limit our exposure
to hazardous substances.
- Evaluating Exposures to Toxic
Air Pollutants: A Citizen's Guide -- Toxic air pollutants
can increase the chance of health problems and cause ecological
impacts. This publication explains the process that EPA uses to
determine how much of a toxic air pollutant people are exposed
to and how many people are exposed.
- Risk Assessment for Toxic Air
Pollutants: A Citizen's Guide -- Find out more about risk
assessment, which is the process used to estimate the risk of
illness from a specific human exposure to a toxic air pollutant.
- Taking Toxics Out of the Air -- This brochure describes what air
toxics are, where they come from, and how they impact people and
the environment.
Links to other air toxics resources
- Chemical Accident
Prevention and Preparedness -- includes information about
leaks and spills, prevention of accidental releases of toxic chemicals,
emergency planning, and community right-to-know issues.
- EPA's Technical Air Toxics
Website -- includes more details about efforts underway to
reduce air toxics.
- Information
for Concerned Citizens on pollution prevention and toxics
-- contains links to information about pollution in several categories,
including home and family, information resources, initiatives,
and workplace issues.
- Toxics Release Inventory
-- contains information about more than 650 toxic chemicals that
are being used, manufactured, treated, transported, or released
into the environment.
- National
Safety Council
-- provides background information on chemicals, including exposure
and risk guidelines.
- Mobile Source Air
Toxics-- provides information on regulations for air pollutants
from mobile sources .
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