EPA Provides Further Direction on Implementing Fine Particle Pollution Air Quality Standard

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule further outlining steps that state, local and tribal governments must take to reduce fine particle pollution (PM2.5). The rule describes how to apply the New Source Review (NSR) program at facilities that emit fine particles. EPA's NSR program requires industrial facilities to obtain permits outlining emissions controls for target air pollutants before they begin construction.

The rule affects areas that do not meet the 1997 PM2.5 standards. Those areas must meet the standards by 2010.

Today's rule complements the agency's PM2.5 final implementation rule issued on April 25, 2007, which addresses the non-New Source Review provisions of PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. A related rule, proposed on Sept. 21, 2007, would complete the PM2.5 preconstruction review program framework by establishing increments, significant impact levels, and significant monitoring concentrations for EPA's Prevention of Significant Deterioration program. Together, these three rules will establish the framework for implementing preconstruction permit components of the 1997 PM2.5 air quality standards.

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EPA - NSR

Find out:

How to reduce particulate matter from prime power and emergency generators

air pollution
particle pollution

Test Your Air Knowledge During National Air Quality Awareness Week

EPA and the National Weather Service challenge all Americans to improve their knowledge of the Air Quality Index (AQI) during the annual “Air Quality Awareness Week” that takes place this year from April 28 to May 2, 2008. As warm weather approaches, using the AQI will help reduce exposure to ground-level ozone pollution. The Air Quality Index is EPA’s color-coded tool for communicating air quality to the public. The most common AQI forecasts range from “code green,” --- a good day to engage in outdoor activities, to “code red” --- when everyone should use caution.

This summer, residents of many cities may notice more “code orange” ozone days than in the past. The potential increase in these “orange” days does not mean air quality is getting worse; it is a result of EPA’s recent strengthening of the national ozone standards. However, any time air quality reaches “code orange,” those sensitive to ground-level ozone should alter their outdoor activities to reduce exposure.

The daily AQI forecast is widely available from a variety of electronic and print media sources. Members of the public can also receive daily email updates of the air quality forecast by subscribing and following the directions on “EnviroFlash” at: http://www.airnow.gov/ Recent improvements to EnviroFlash make it easier to use. Just enter: the name, e-mail address, and zip code and EnviroFlash will find the nearest local forecast. The information can also be customized to select a specific forecast to be received, such as for “code red” days only.

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State and local Air Quality Awareness Week events

National Weather Service - air quality forecast

EPA Publishes Annual National Greenhouse Gas Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the national greenhouse gas inventory, which finds that overall emissions during 2006 decreased by 1.1 percent from the previous year. The report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006, is the latest in an annual set of reports that the United States submits to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.

“Each year since 1993, EPA’s experts have built a comprehensive inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,” said Robert Meyers principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office Air and Radiation. “Our understanding of emission sources is paramount to combating climate change.”

Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2006 were equivalent to 7,054.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. The report indicates that overall emissions have grown by 14.7 percent from 1990 to 2006, while the U.S. economy has grown by 59 percent over the same period.

The decrease in emissions in 2006 was due primarily to a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption. The following factors were primary contributors to this decrease:
· compared to 2005, 2006 had warmer winter conditions, which decreased consumption of heating fuels, as well as cooler summer conditions, which reduced demand for electricity;
· restraint on fuel consumption caused by rising fuel prices, primarily in the transportation sector; and
· increased use of natural gas and renewables in the electric power sector.

EPA prepares the annual report in collaboration with experts from multiple federal agencies and after gathering comments from a broad range of stakeholders across the country.

The inventory tracks annual greenhouse gas emissions at the national level and presents historical emissions from 1990 to 2006. The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by “sinks,” e.g., through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation and soils.

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Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report

climate change

EPA Increases Transparency of Regulatory Development

EPA is making federal environmental regulation more transparent by providing on-line information as soon as the agency begins the development of a new rule.

Starting today, EPA is using Action Initiation Lists (AILs) to notify the public about new rules and other regulatory actions. AILs will be posted on the EPA Web site at roughly the end of each month; each will describe those actions that were approved for commencement during the given month. Formerly, the public had to wait for EPA's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, which is updated only every six months, to learn about new regulatory actions.

The AILs provide summaries, agency contacts, and other information about the rules EPA has approved for development. For example, the March 2008 AIL announces the agency's plans to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for greenhouse gases in late spring. This notice will solicit public input as EPA considers the specific effects of climate change and potential regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary and mobile sources under the Clean Air Act. The March AIL also announces the agency's plans to propose a rulemaking that builds on EPA's existing renewable fuels standard program. The expansion of the program was mandated by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.

The February and March 2008 AILs are now available. EPA expects to release the April AIL around April 30.

See the Source:

EPA - Action Initiation Lists

EPA - Semiannual Regulatory Agendas

Virginia Schools Receive Grant to Reduce Diesel Pollution

In the next year, students who ride buses from the Virginia Middle Peninsula schools will be breathing cleaner air, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce pollution in diesel-powered school buses.

EPA's Clean School Bus USA program awarded $143,068 to Hampton Roads Clean Cities to work with several Middle Peninsula school districts to retrofit over 100 school buses. The average bus ride for students benefitting from this project is an hour or more. The new pollution-control equipment, coupled with the use of cleaner burning fuel and the encouragement of less engine idling of school buses, will substantially reduce soot and exhaust pollutants.

"Breathing diesel exhaust can be harmful, especially for children with asthma," said Regional Administrator Donald S. Welsh. "We're pleased that Hampton Roads Clean Cities is taking action so students can breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives.”

The grant will be used by the school districts to install diesel oxidation catalysts on 100 buses, switch to cleaner burning fuel for 198 buses, promote reduced engine idling and purchase one new clean alternative propane-powered bus. The retrofit equipment in combination with ultra low sulfur diesel fuel can reduce pollution emissions from the diesel buses by 60 to 90 percent.

“In addition to obvious clean air and health benefits, the Clean School Bus award supports or complements many components of the effort to preserve the sensitive Dragon Run watershed in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula,” said Al Christopher, Executive Director of Virginia Clean Cities.

In April 2003, EPA launched its Clean School Bus USA program to help reduce children’s exposure to diesel exhaust. The particles in diesel exhaust can penetrate deep into the lungs and pose health risks including aggravating asthma symptoms. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of diesel emissions and air pollution because their respiratory systems are still developing and they have a faster breathing rate.

See the Source:
EPA - Funding for clean diesel projects

Find out:
How to reduce diesel pollution using diesel particulate filters

air pollution
diesel pollution

EPA Launches Environmental Indicators Gateway

On April 9, 2008, the EPA launched the Environmental Indicators Gateway Web site to provide enhanced public access to environmental and health information generated by EPA. Information is presented in the context of "environmental indicators," numerical values that provide insights into the status and trends of environmental and public health conditions over time. The Gateway establishes a single catalog of EPA's indicator work that allows browsing and searching among existing EPA Web sites and indicator materials. The site allows users to browse EPA's environmental indicator reports by geography, topic area, or time period. For each report featured on the site, users can find information on key details of the project including geography, project purpose, contact information, and data quality considerations.

In addition to enhancing public access, the Gateway provides a resource for EPA and other federal agencies and partners to better coordinate their own environmental indicator work. By sharing key information and best practices among existing projects, EPA can improve its ability to generate environmental indicator information in the future. To better accomplish the goals of EPA's Environmental Indicators Initiative, EPA plans further enhancements to the site, which will improve coordination among existing indicator work and provide additional tools for accessing environmental indicators and information across EPA.

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EPA - New Environmental Indicators

environment

EPA Makes $50 Million Available to Clean Up Diesel Engines Nationwide

EPA is announcing the availability of almost $50 million in grant funding to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing emissions from the nation's existing fleet of diesel engines.

The unprecedented sum, which was authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and funded for the first time this fiscal year, will be administered by EPA's National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) and its network of seven collaboratives, made up of EPA regional offices and public and private sector partners.

"Under President Bush's leadership, America's air is cleaner today than it was a generation ago," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "By encouraging innovations in existing diesel engines, EPA is driving the nation toward a clean, healthy, productive tomorrow."

Diesels are the economic workhorses of the nation, and over the past decade, EPA has set stringent new particulate and nitrogen oxide standards for most types of new engines. These regulations will annually prevent more than 20,000 premature deaths and yield more than $150 billion in public health benefits when fully implemented. The funding announced today, however, is aimed at reducing emissions from the existing fleet of 11 million diesel engines that pre-date these standards. Addressing the existing fleet is important because diesels remain in use for decades.

State, local, regional and tribal governments can apply for the grants, as well as non-profits and institutions with transportation, educational services and air quality responsibilities.

The grants are targeting school or transit buses, medium and heavy-duty trucks, marine engines, locomotives and nonroad engines. Grant recipients can use a variety of cost-effective emission reduction strategies, such as EPA-verified retrofit and idle-reduction technologies, EPA-certified engine upgrades, vehicle or equipment replacements, cleaner fuels and creation of innovative clean diesel financing programs.

Some EPA Regional offices have already started issuing requests for grant applications, called Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and, along with EPA Headquarters, will continue to roll them out throughout the spring.

NCDC uses a proactive, incentive-based approach to achieve environmental results. More than 400,000 existing diesel engines have already been retrofitted during the campaign's first few years, cutting harmful emissions by nearly 300,000 tons.

See the Source:
NCDC Funding Opportunities

Find out:
About diesel particulate filters to reduce diesel particulate matter

diesel emissions

EPA Celebrates Earth Day Throughout April with New Web and Multimedia Features

How can you reduce your carbon footprint, make your home or business water efficient or make sure our nation's beaches stay clean this summer? April 22 is Earth Day and this year, EPA is launching several online initiatives throughout the month of April to help raise environmental awareness.

· Green Tips – Sign up for daily environmental tips via e-mail (http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips.htm). Also, download the Green Tip "widget" to use on your social networking site or blog.

· Audio Podcasts –Twice per week during the month of April, listen to EPA's experts discuss ways you can reduce your environmental footprint. The podcasts will be available for download on EPA's home page and also available for free subscription on iTunes.

· "Green Scene" – EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson will host the latest edition of the agency's new online video series. The administrator discusses Earth Day 2008, the importance of environmental stewardship and the agency's accomplishments.

· Historical Video – The history of EPA and why it was created, as told by all nine former administrators, will be available in two separate videos on EPA's multimedia portal (http://www.epa.gov/multimedia).

· Special Events – Multimedia coverage of the annual Presidential Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) and People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Competition will be available for public viewing following the events (http://www.epa.gov/multimedia).

· Photo Contest - Help choose the winner. We chose 30 finalists from nearly 750 photos (see contest: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/photocontest).

· Ask EPA – Molly O'Neill, EPA's Chief Information Officer and Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information will host an online discussion on April 24th at 2 p.m EDT. Molly will highlight the agency's National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information and take ideas for improving access, including suggestions to improve EPA's homepage (for more information: http://www.epa.gov/askepa).

TERP Awards Over $1.7 Million to Help Clean the Air

Texas has awarded over $1.7 million in rebates to eight North Texas-based companies to replace 19 aging diesel vehicles under the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP). By upgrading to newer, less polluting vehicles these companies will prevent a combined total of 179 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from polluting North Texas skies.

"By participating in TERP these companies are helping us to achieve our goal of replacing 4,500 older diesel engines," said Leslie Rauscher, EPA Project Manager. "TERP can assist local businesses stay competitive while helping clean up the air.”

The $30 million allocated to the rebate grants under this funding cycle has been awarded, but there is still time to apply for the Emissions Reduction Incentive Grants (ERIG) with $110 million to award. The application deadline is April 11, 2008. Individual application assistance is available at local TERP Community Help Desks. For information visit http://www.terpgrants.org/ or call (800) 919-8377.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and a host of other North Texas partners to upgrade or replace older trucks and equipment as a way to improve air quality in the nine county area. The Texas Emissions Reduction Program, approved by the Texas Legislature, serves as a national model for replacing and retrofitting older diesel engines. The TCEQ manages the TERP program.

See the Source:
EPA Region 6

diesel pollution

$5.4 Million Available to Cut Diesel Pollution in Northeast and Caribbean

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is making nearly $5.4 million in grants available for clean diesel projects under the 2008 Northeast Diesel Collaborative (NEDC) program to reduce harmful diesel pollution. Projects may include a variety of diesel emissions reductions solutions such as add-on emission control retrofit technologies; idle reduction technologies; cleaner fuel use; engine repowers; engine upgrades; vehicle or equipment replacement; and the creation of innovative finance programs to fund diesel emissions reduction projects. All projects must benefit the air quality in the geographic areas that include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Vermont; and Tribal lands belonging to the federally recognized Indian tribes in these regions. The deadline for applying is June 12, 2008.

“Reducing the emissions of particle pollution is a crucial component of EPA’s strategy for cleaner air and healthier Americans,” said Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Regional Administrator. “These funds allow us to complement regulatory efforts, like our new rule to dramatically reduce emissions from diesel powered locomotives and marine engines, announced last week. The Northeast Diesel Collaborative is part of EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, which includes the grant program announced today and works to clean up diesels that are already on our roads and rails, at our construction sites and in our harbors."

Funding under the NEDC emissions reduction grant program supports projects that significantly reduce tons of diesel pollution produced, particularly from fleets operating in areas designated by the Administrator as poor air quality areas. The program reduces pollution from heavy duty diesel vehicles and equipment that are currently used on the road or off the road, such as for construction or farming. Eligible vehicles, engines and equipment may include but are not limited to: buses; medium-duty or heavy-duty trucks; marine engines; locomotives; and nonroad engines or vehicles used in construction; handling or cargo (including at a port or airport); agriculture; mining; or energy production.

EPA is accepting proposals for funding from regional, state, local or tribal agencies or port authorities with jurisdiction over transportation or air quality. Proposals will also be accepted from nonprofit organizations or institutions that represent or provide pollution reduction or educational services to persons or organizations that own or operate diesel fleets or that have, as their principal purpose, the promotion of transportation or air quality. School districts, municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations, cities and counties are all eligible provided that they fall within the definition above.

EPA will host two Question and Answer sessions via teleconference on April 10 from 10:00 am to 12 noon and May 7 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM to answer questions and provide additional information about this funding competition. The call-in number for both sessions is: 866-299-3188. Enter Conference Code: 212 637 3745 #.

For more information, including a copy of the Request for Proposals, please visit: http://www.northeastdiesel.org/ or contact Matt Laurita (212) 637-3895.

See the Source:

North East Diesel

Find out:

How to reduce diesel emissions using diesel particulate filters

Half Measures and Compromises Are Not Good Enough

Statement of Bernadette Toomey, President and Chief Executive Officer
American Lung Association: March 12, 2008

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a critical tightening of the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. We wish we could be happier about this decision, but we cannot. The standard announced today, although an improvement, falls far short of the requirements of the Clean Air Act. We are unable to celebrate half measures when the risks are so evident, when the science and the scientists are so united about what is needed and when the missed opportunity means that thousands will suffer more and die sooner than they should. Furthermore, we reject the suggestions made by the Administrator to weaken and undermine the Clean Air Act itself. Coming from the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, such suggestions are truly outrageous.

Certainly, today’s decision on the health-based standard opens a welcome new phase in the attack against the most widespread air pollutant in the nation—and among the most dangerous. A tighter ozone standard sets in motion new steps to clean up air pollution. The ozone standard the EPA adopted strengthens the protection for millions of Americans from the air pollutant often known as smog. Yet, by stopping far short of the mark, the EPA action today denies millions more the protection they deserve from their government.

Ozone smog threatens the health of infants, children, seniors, and people who have asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other lung diseases. For these people, breathing smog-polluted air can make them cough and wheeze, restrict their airways, worsen their diseases, force them to the hospital and even kill them. Even healthy young adults and people who exercise or work outdoors can suffer from high levels of ozone pollution.

Today’s decision means that millions of Americans will not get the protection that the law requires. According to the nation’s landmark air pollution law, the Clean Air Act, the EPA must set our air quality standards at levels that protect the health of the public, including children, older people, and people who suffer from chronic lung diseases. The EPA’s own expert scientific advisors unanimously recommended a stronger standard that would provide much more protection—advice the Agency ignored. Sixteen major medical societies and public health organizations—including the American Lung Association—repeatedly urged the EPA to follow the overwhelming evidence for a truly protective standard. Our recommendations also went unheeded.

Instead of following the law, the Administrator has proposed, incredibly enough, dismantling the core principles that are embodied in the Clean Air Act—legal requirements that have enabled us to reduce deadly forms of air pollution. The Administrator offers to play “pick your poison” with public health, allowing the state and local governments to determine which pollutants to ignore and which to clean up. The Clean Air Act recognized these pollutants as the national priority because they were the most widespread and dangerous. The Act assigned the EPA Administrator the responsibility to set standards to protect the health of all of the public from these pollutants, not just some people, and required the states and local governments to reduce the burden of all these pollutants, not just some of them. History has shown that when communities pick and chose who gets protected, those left behind, exposed to the worst, are usually the weak, the young, the old and those who face life-threatening disease. The Administrator cannot promote such discrimination.

Basic to those principles is the requirement that the national ambient air quality standards protect public health with an adequate margin of safety. The Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that protecting public health be the sole basis for the Administrator’s decision on a standard. History has shown that principle to be sound. The Administrator proposes to change the Clean Air Act to violate that principle. That is completely unacceptable.

Despite arguments from polluters, thirty years of evidence shows that protecting public health has not harmed the economy—nor is it likely to do so in the future. We would encourage the Administrator to read his own website to see the EPA chart documenting that we’ve been able to cut emissions by half while the economy soared.

Given the real dangers to the most vulnerable members of each of our families, EPA’s decisions today represent a compromise the public can ill afford. The Agency moved closer to the need but not only failed to follow the law, the Agency is now supporting fundamentally weakening the Clean Air Act itself.

See the Source:

American Lung Association

EPA Strengthens Smog Standards to Better Protect Public Health and the Environment

Announcement by the EPA: 03-12-08

EPA today met its requirements of the Clean Air Act by signing the most stringent 8-hour standard ever for ozone, revising the standards for the first time in more than a decade. The agency based the changes on the most recent scientific evidence about the effects of ozone, the primary component of smog.

“America’s air is cleaner today than it was a generation ago. By meeting the requirement of the Clean Air Act and strengthening the national standard for ozone, EPA is keeping our clean air progress moving forward,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

The new primary 8-hour standard is 0.075 parts per million (ppm) and the new secondary standard is set at a form and level identical to the primary standard. The previous primary and secondary standards were identical 8-hour standards, set at 0.08 ppm. Because ozone is measured out to three decimal places, the standard effectively became 0.084 ppm: areas with ozone levels as high as 0.084 ppm were considered as meeting the 0.08 ppm standard, because of rounding.

In announcing the new ozone standard Administrator Johnson also announced that he will be sending Congress four principles to guide legislative changes to the Clean Air Act.

“The Clean Air Act is not a relic to be displayed in the Smithsonian, but a living document that must be modernized to continue realizing results. So while the standards I signed today may be strict, we have a responsibility to overhaul and enhance the Clean Air Act to ensure it translates from paper promises into cleaner air,” Johnson concluded.

The four principles outlined by the administrator recommend that the Clean Air Act and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS); 1) must protect the public health and improve the overall well-being of our citizens; 2) should allow decision-makers to consider benefits, costs, risk tradeoffs, and feasibility in making decisions about how to clean the air; 3) should provide greater accountability and effective enforcement to ensure not only paper requirements but also air quality requirements are met, especially in areas with the furthest to go in meeting our standards; 4) should allow the schedule for addressing NAAQS standards to be driven by the available science and the prioritization of health and environmental concerns, taking into account the multi-pollutant nature of air pollution. While the administrator stated that these changes are needed to modernize the Clean Air Act, the nation will still benefit from the new standard.

The United States has made significant progress reducing ground-level ozone across the country. Since 1980, ozone levels have dropped 21 percent as EPA, states and local governments have worked together to improve the quality of the nation’s air. EPA expects improvement to continue, as a result of landmark regulations such as the Clean Air Interstate Rule, to reduce emissions from power plants in the East, and the Clean Diesel Program, to reduce emissions from highway, nonroad and stationary diesel engines nationwide.

Ozone can harm people’s lungs, and EPA is particularly concerned about individuals with asthma or other lung diseases, as well as those who spend a lot of time outside, such as children. Ozone exposure can aggravate asthma, resulting in increased medication use and emergency room visits, and it can increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.

Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms when emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) “cook” in the sun. Power plants, motor vehicle exhaust, industrial facilities, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are the major human-made sources of these emissions. EPA estimates that the final standards will yield health benefits valued between $2 billion and $19 billion.

Those benefits include preventing cases of bronchitis, aggravated asthma, hospital and emergency room visits, nonfatal heart attacks and premature death, among others. EPA’s Regulatory Impact analysis shows that benefits are likely greater than the cost of implementing the standards. Cost estimates range from $7.6 billion to $8.5 billion. EPA selected the levels for the final standards after reviewing more than 1,700 peer-reviewed scientific studies about the effects of ozone on public health and welfare, and after considering advice from the agency’s external scientific advisors and staff, along with public comment. EPA held five public hearings and received nearly 90,000 written comments.

As part of today’s action, EPA also has updated the Air Quality Index (AQI) for ozone to reflect the change in the health standard. The AQI is EPA’s color-coded tool for communicating daily air quality to the public.

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EPA - Revised Standards

Clean Air Act

EPA Seeks Public Comment on U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a draft annual report that analyzes sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006, will be open for public comment for 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published.

The major finding in this year's draft report is that overall emissions during 2006 decreased by 1.5 percent from the previous year. This decrease was due primarily to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption. Total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2006 were about 7,202 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Overall, emissions have grown by 14.1 percent from 1990 to 2006 while the U.S. economy has grown by 59 percent over the same period.

The inventory tracks annual greenhouse gas emissions at the national level and presents historical emissions from 1990 to 2006. The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by "sinks," e.g., through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation, and soils.

EPA prepares the annual report in collaboration with experts from multiple federal agencies. After responding to public comments, the U.S. government will submit the final inventory report to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, fulfilling its annual requirement as a party to this international treaty on climate change. The UNFCCC treaty, ratified by the United States in 1992, sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.

See the Source:
EPA - information on the draft report and how to submit public comments

EPA Knows More About Children's Health Today Than Ever

New Report Highlights 10 Years of Comprehensive Research

EPA knows more now than ever about children's environmental health and how to create a healthier environment for children. This is the result of a 10-year research effort on children's environmental health highlighted in a new report issued today.

"Understanding potential environmental health risks to children is important to EPA," said George Gray, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Research and Development. "This research will help us assess and address environmental factors that may affect some of the most vulnerable members of our society."

The report, "A Decade of Children's Environmental Health: Highlights from EPA's Science to Achieve Results Program" focuses on 10 years of research funded or performed by EPA's National Center for Environmental Research's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program.

Some of the major findings of this research include:
- People metabolize pesticides differently based on their genotype; some faster, others slower. This finding is of particular concern during pregnancy, as many babies do not develop the ability to metabolize some pesticides during the first two years of life, putting them at greater risks of health effects.
- Children living close to major roadways in Southern California have a higher risk of asthma.
- EPA’s ban on two household pesticides (diazinon and chlorpyrifos) resulted in a rapid decrease in exposures in New York City. Children born after the ban were also healthier.
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be effectively implemented in urban areas to reduce both pesticide and allergen triggers.
- Community partners play a critical role in informing, implementing, and translating children’s environmental health research.

The 1997 Federal Executive Order, "Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks," mandated all federal agencies to place a high priority on identifying and assessing risks to children. In 1998, the STAR program, which funds and supports human health, economics, ecology and engineering sciences, launched its own children's health initiative. To date, the program has awarded more than 60 grants and issued more than 10 research solicitations.

The report summarizes research from the STAR children's health program over the past 10 years, highlighting scientific findings in epidemiology, exposure science, genetics, community-based participatory research, interventions, statistics and methods. This body of work has impacted policy in the United States and influenced scientific directions internationally.

See the Source:

EPA - A Decade of Children's Environmental Health

environment

New Web Multimedia Portal Launched on EPA.gov

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today launched its new web multimedia portal: www.epa.gov/multimedia. The multimedia portal is EPA’s one-stop location for environmental video, audio/podcasts, and photography.

The portal also includes interactive features such as “Ask EPA” and the Deputy Administrator's blog, “Flow of the River”. Another feature called "EPA in Action" goes behind-the-scenes; following the diverse jobs performed by the EPA workforce and examines some of the most pressing environmental issues facing our nation today.

Viewing video is integrated into the site using flash player, while photos of events and EPA work will be posted in a series of online galleries. Users may also subscribe to several podcast series or select from a number of individual podcasts featuring EPA experts and senior officials.

This new multimedia portal is an important resource for the public, journalists, academia, local governments and the environmental community. The portal will help increase awareness of important news items through an intuitive, media-rich focus, rather than through traditional electronic print.

environment

Stanford Scientist Produces First-Ever Study Linking Increased Mortality Specifically to Carbon Dioxide Emissions

A Stanford scientist has spelled out for the first time the direct links between increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increases in human mortality, using a state-of-the-art computer model of the atmosphere that incorporates scores of physical and chemical environmental processes. The new findings, to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, come to light just after the Environmental Protection Agency's recent ruling against states setting specific emission standards for this greenhouse gas based in part on the lack of data showing the link between carbon dioxide emissions and their health effects.

While it has long been known that carbon dioxide emissions contribute to climate change, the new study details how for each increase of 1 degree Celsius caused by carbon dioxide, the resulting air pollution would lead annually to about a thousand additional deaths and many more cases of respiratory illness and asthma in the United States, according to the paper by Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. Worldwide, upward of 20,000 air-pollution-related deaths per year per degree Celsius may be due to this greenhouse gas.

"This is a cause and effect relationship, not just a correlation," said Jacobson of his study, which on Dec. 24 was accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters. "The study is the first specifically to isolate carbon dioxide's effect from that of other global-warming agents and to find quantitatively that chemical and meteorological changes due to carbon dioxide itself increase mortality due to increased ozone, particles and carcinogens in the air."

Jacobson said that the research has particular implications for California. This study finds that the effects of carbon dioxide's warming are most significant where the pollution is already severe. Given that California is home to six of the 10 U.S. cities with the worst air quality, the state is likely to bear an increasingly disproportionate burden of death if no new restrictions are placed on carbon dioxide emissions.

On Dec. 19, the Environmental Protection Agency denied California and 16 other states a waiver that would have allowed the states to set their own emission standards for carbon dioxide, which are not currently regulated. The EPA denied the waiver partly on the grounds that no special circumstances existed to warrant an exception for the states.

Stephen L. Johnson, the EPA administrator, was widely quoted as saying that California's petition was denied because the state had failed to prove the "extraordinary and compelling conditions" required to qualify for a waiver. While previous published research has focused on the global effect on pollution—but not health—of all the greenhouse gases combined, the EPA noted that, under the Clean Air Act, it has to be shown that there is a reasonable anticipation of a specific pollutant endangering public health in the United States for the agency to regulate that pollutant.

Jacobson's paper offers concrete evidence that California is facing a particularly dire situation if carbon dioxide emissions increase. "With six of the 10 most polluted cities in the nation being in California, that alone creates a special circumstance for the state," he said, explaining that the health-related effects of carbon dioxide emissions are most pronounced in areas that already have significant pollution. As such, increased warming due to carbon dioxide will worsen people's health in those cities at a much faster clip than elsewhere in the nation.

According to Jacobson, more than 30 percent of the 1,000 excess deaths (mean death rate value) due to each degree Celsius increase caused by carbon dioxide occurred in California, which has a population of about 12 percent of the United States. This indicates a much higher effect of carbon-dioxide-induced warming on California health than that of the nation as a whole.
Jacobson added that much of the population of the United States already has been directly affected by climate change through the air they have inhaled over the last few decades and that, of course, the health effects would grow worse if temperatures continue to rise.

Jacobson's work stands apart from previous research in that it uses a computer model of the atmosphere that takes into account many feedbacks between climate change and air pollution not considered in previous studies. Developed by Jacobson over the last 18 years, it is considered by many to be the most complex and complete atmospheric model worldwide. It incorporates principles of gas and particle emissions and transport, gas chemistry, particle production and evolution, ocean processes, soil processes, and the atmospheric effects of rain, winds, sunlight, heat and clouds, among other factors.

For this study, Jacobson used the computer model to determine the amounts of ozone and airborne particles that result from temperature increases caused by increases in carbon dioxide emissions. Ozone causes and worsens respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, emphysema and asthma, and many published studies have associated increased ozone with higher mortality. "[Ozone] is a very corrosive gas; it erodes rubber and statues," Jacobson said. "It cracks tires. So you can imagine what it does to your lungs in high enough concentrations." Particles are responsible for cardiovascular and respiratory illness and asthma.

Jacobson arrived at his results of the impact of carbon dioxide globally and, at higher resolution, over the United States by modeling the changes that would occur when all current human and natural gas and particle emissions were considered versus considering all such emissions except human-emitted carbon dioxide.

Jacobson simultaneously calculated the effects of increasing temperatures on pollution. He observed two important effects:

- Higher temperatures due to carbon dioxide increased the chemical rate of ozone production in urban areas.
- Increased water vapor due to carbon dioxide-induced higher temperatures boosted chemical ozone production even more in urban areas.

Interestingly, neither effect was so important under the low-pollution conditions typical of rural regions, though other factors, such as higher organic gas emissions from vegetation, affected ozone in low-pollution areas. Higher emissions of organic gases also increased the quantity of particles in the air, as organic gases can chemically react to form particles.

And in general, where there was an increase in water vapor, particles that were present became more deadly, as they swelled from absorption of water. "That added moisture allows other gases to dissolve in the particles—certain acid gases, like nitric acid, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid," Jacobson said. That increases the toxicity of the particles, which are already a harmful component of air pollution.

Jacobson also found that air temperatures rose more rapidly due to carbon dioxide than did ground temperatures, changing the vertical temperature profile, which decreased pollution dispersion, thereby concentrating particles near where they formed.

In the final stage of the study, Jacobson used the computer model to factor in the spatially varying population of the United States with the health effects that have been demonstrated to be associated with the aforementioned pollutants.

"The simulations accounted for the changes in ozone and particles through chemistry, transport, clouds, emissions and other processes that affect pollution," Jacobson said. "Carbon dioxide definitely caused these changes, because that was the only input that was varied."

"Ultimately, you inhale a greater abundance of deleterious chemicals due to carbon dioxide and the climate change associated with it, and the link appears quite solid," he said. "The logical next step is to reduce carbon dioxide: That would reduce its warming effect and improve the health of people in the U.S. and around the world who are currently suffering from air pollution health problems associated with it."

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Ultrafine Particles in Air Pollution May Cause Heart Disease

Patients prone to heart disease may one day be told by physicians to avoid not only fatty foods and smoking but air pollution too.

A new academic study led by UCLA researchers has revealed that the smallest particles from vehicle emissions may be the most damaging components of air pollution in triggering plaque buildup in the arteries, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. The findings appear in the Jan. 17 online edition of the journal Circulation Research.

The scientists identified a way in which pollutant particles may promote hardening of the arteries -- by inactivating the protective qualities of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as "good" cholesterol.

A multicampus team from UCLA, the University of Southern California, the University of California, Irvine, and Michigan State University contributed to the research, which was led by Dr. Andre Nel, UCLA's chief of nanomedicine. The study was primarily funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"It appears that the smallest air pollutant particles, which are the most abundant in an urban environment, are the most toxic," said first author Dr. Jesus Araujo, assistant professor of medicine and director of environmental cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "This is the first study that demonstrates the ability of nano-sized air pollutants to promote atherosclerosis in an animal model."

Nanoparticles are the size of a virus or molecule -- roughly 0.18 micrometers, or about one-thousandth the size of a human hair. The EPA currently regulates fine particles, which are the next size up, at 2.5 micrometers, but doesn't monitor particles in the nano or ultrafine range. These particles are too small to capture in a filter, so new technology must be developed to track their contribution to adverse health effects.

"We hope our findings offer insight into the impact of nano-sized air pollutant particles and help explore ways for stricter air quality regulatory guidelines," said Nel, principal investigator and a researcher at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute.

Nel added that the consequences of air pollution on cardiovascular health may be similar to the hazards of secondhand smoke.

Pollution particles emitted by vehicles and other combustion sources contain a high concentration of organic chemicals that could be released deep into the lungs or even spill over into the systemic circulation.

The UCLA research team previously reported that diesel exhaust particles interact with artery-clogging fats in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to activate genes that cause the blood-vessel inflammation that can lead to heart disease.

In the current study, researchers exposed mice with high cholesterol to one of two sizes of air pollutant particles from downtown Los Angeles freeway emissions and compared them with mice that received filtered air that contained very few particles.

The study, conducted over a five-week period, required a complex exposure design that was developed by teams led by Dr. Michael Kleinman, professor of community and environmental medicine at UC Irvine, and Dr. Constantinos Sioutas, professor of civil and environmental engineering at USC.

Researchers found that mice exposed to ultrafine particles exhibited 55 percent greater atherosclerotic-plaque development than animals breathing filtered air and 25 percent greater plaque development than mice exposed to fine-sized particles.

"This suggests that ultrafine particles are the more toxic air pollutants in promoting events leading to cardiovascular disease," Araujo said.

Pollutant particles are coated in chemicals sensitive to free radicals, which cause the cell and tissue damage known as oxidation. Oxidation leads to the inflammation that causes clogged arteries. Samples from polluted air revealed that ultrafine particles have a larger concentration of these chemicals and a larger surface area where these chemicals thrive, compared with larger particles, Sioutas noted.

"Ultrafine particles may deliver a much higher effective dose of injurious components, compared with larger pollutant particles," Nel said.

Scientists also identified a key mechanism behind how these air pollutants are able to affect the atherosclerotic process. Using a test developed by Dr. Mohamad Navab, study co-author and a UCLA professor of medicine, researchers found that exposure to air pollutant particles reduced the anti-inflammatory protective properties of HDL cholesterol.

"HDL normally helps reduce the vascular inflammation that is part of the atherosclerotic process," said Dr. Jake Lusis, study co-author and a UCLA professor of cardiology, human genetics and microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics. "Surprisingly, we found that exposure to air pollutant particles, and especially the ultrafine size, significantly decreased the positive effects of HDL."

To explore if air particle exposure caused oxidative stress throughout the body - which is an early process triggering the inflammation that causes clogged arteries -- researchers checked for an increase in genes that would have been activated to combat this inflammatory progression.

"We found greater levels of gene activation in mice exposed to ultrafine particles, compared to the other groups," Lusis said. "Our next step will be to develop a biomarker that could enable physicians to assess the degree of cardiovascular damage caused by air pollutants or measure the level of risk encountered by an exposed person."

Researchers added that previous studies assessing the cardiovascular impact of air pollution have taken place over longer periods of exposure time, such as five to six months. The current study demonstrated that ill effects can occur more quickly, in just five weeks.

"Further study will pinpoint critical chemical and toxic properties of ultrafine particles that may affect humans," Nel said.

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University of California

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Improving Public Health and the Environment for Local Communities is Just a Click Away

A new EPA Web site features dozens of projects that local communities can do to help make the air cleaner and healthier to breathe. The "Improving Air Quality in Your Community" Web site features activities for reducing both indoor and outdoor pollution, including diesel engine retrofit programs, improving air quality in local schools, and pollution prevention options for small businesses. These projects have a successful track record: they were previously put into action by state and local governments across the country. This site includes information about the costs to establish and maintain each project, and how local communities can apply for EPA grants to kick-start their activities.

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EPA - Improving Air Quality in Your Community

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More Renewable Fuel Headed for Your Tank

EPA is raising the 2008 renewable fuels standard (RFS), which determines how much non-petroleum fuel will power your vehicle, to 7.76 percent. The move is in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), which President Bush signed in December.

Last November, EPA announced a RFS of 4.66 percent, based on previous law, that mandated at least 5.4 billion gallons of renewable fuels be blended into the nation's transportation fuels this year. However, EPA is now increasing the standard to 7.76 percent to comply with the new minimum of 9.0 billion gallons of renewable fuel that EISA requires.

EISA increases the overall volume of renewable fuels that must be blended each year, reaching 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA annually calculates the percentage-based standard, which applies to refiners, importers and non-oxygenate blenders of gasoline.

Based on the standard, each of these parties determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must use. The RFS program creates new markets for farm products, increases energy security, and promotes the development of advanced technologies that would expand the production of renewable fuels.

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EPA - Renewable Fuels

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