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Bay Area Air Quality Management District Article
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The Air Quality Management Program
from:The Environmental Protection Agency better known as the EPA is ultimately responsible for the air quality management in the United States of America. Although, the EPA assigns other businesses, programs, groups, organizations and entities the miscellaneous tasks related to air quality management they are the group or organization assigned the task by the federal government.
The EPA has the responsibility of the following air quality management standards, air quality improvements, air quality monitoring, home air quality, indoor air quality, outdoor air quality, poor air quality, air quality standards updates, air quality testing and air quality levels. These are only a few of the many air quality management areas of interest that the EPA is required to monitor.
The standards involved with air quality management are grouped into Primary and Secondary air quality standards. Primary air quality standards were set to protect public health. The Primary standards include “sensitive” pollutants such as those that contribute to asthma and the pollutants dangerous to children and the elderly. Secondary air quality standards are those set to the welfare of the public. The pollutants included in the Secondary standards include pollutants effecting animals, visibility, buildings, crops and vegetation.
The reason that the EPA is ultimately responsible for air quality management is because of the Clean Air Act of 1970. In 1970, the Clean Air Act was passed and created the need for an organization to manage the specific aspects of the act.
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set air quality standards for six harmful pollutants. The six pollutants that the EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards or the OAQPS has set standards for are Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Particulate Matter and Sulfur Dioxide. These six pollutants are called “criteria” pollutants. The units used to measure these pollutants are parts per million (ppm) by volume, milligrams (mg/m3), and micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3).
These pollutants were named and the standards were set because the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to do so. The Clean Air Act also tells the EPA to review and update these standards to make sure that they continue to protect the public and the environment, as the updates are needed.
In 1990, the last amendment was added to the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act is still reviewed for needed amendments and changes as science and industry change the way that the monitoring and testing is done.
The EPA does air quality management because they were the organization named responsible by the United States government after the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970.
Bay Area Air Quality Management District Specific links
Bay Area Air Quality Management District News
Benicia air-monitoring project in limbo, Valero and community group say - Vallejo Times-Herald
Benicia air-monitoring project in limbo, Valero and community group say Vallejo Times-Herald May 2009: An air-quality study finds that Benicia was fourth worst in the Bay Area for ozone levels in 2008, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Although the refinery emits ozone precursor gases, its exact contribution to ozone ... |
Bay Area no longer among 25 most-polluted regions - San Francisco Chronicle
 USA TODAY | Bay Area no longer among 25 most-polluted regions San Francisco Chronicle In January, the California Air Resources Board approved regulations that will cut in half current greenhouse gas emissions and mandate production of more than a million zero-emission vehicles by 2025. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has ... San Francisco drops off top 25 list for worst smog pollution Bay Area Coastal Counties Score High Marks For Air Quality North Coast has some of cleanest air in California |
Bay Area residents being encouraged to leave car at home twice a week - Napa Valley Register
 The San Francisco Appeal | Bay Area residents being encouraged to leave car at home twice a week Napa Valley Register The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is launching the 2012 Spare the Air smog season Wednesday during Air Quality Awareness Week. Tailpipe exhaust from the millions of cars on Bay Area roads is the largest source of smog in the Bay Area. Summer 'Spare the Air' season starts today Spare the Air season begins Spare the Air smog season starts Tuesday in the Bay Area |
Napa fights Bay Area commission legislation - Napa Valley Register
Napa fights Bay Area commission legislation Napa Valley Register DeSaulnier's bill would move the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission under the umbrella of the ... |
Bay Area's air is cleaner, but we can still do more - San Francisco Examiner
Bay Area's air is cleaner, but we can still do more San Francisco Examiner Its annual State of the Air Report analyzes the amount of ozone and airborne particulate matter in cities around the country. This is a credit to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. For years, the agency was widely derided as toothless and ... |