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How Does Protection from Dirty Air Work?

Graphic showing primary and secondary air pollutants

Click on a choice:

  Why Test?

  Protection

  National Standards

  EPA

  Compliance

  Regulation

  Testing

  Monitoring

 

To safeguard our right to breathe healthy air, the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) was signed into law in 1963 and amended in 1977 and 1990. This law requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish national outdoor (or ambient) air quality standards for major pollutants, air toxics, and acid rain control and to provide ways to enforce them.

The act also requires the EPA to review current scientific research on the harmful effects of specific pollutants and to up-date the national standards. The Federal Clean Air Act is the framework for protecting air quality in the United States. The U.S. EPA carries out its requirements in coordination with state and local regulatory agencies. California and some other states have developed state air quality standards and regulations that are even stricter than the national standards.

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