Two historical events--in two different parts of the world--acted as the initial impetus for the passage of the Clean Air Act. In the United States, a deadly environmental disaster was the first suggestion to Americans that air pollution poses a threat to human health. In an industrial town of Pennsylvania called Donora, a thick cloud of air pollution collected in the sky during October 1948. This cloud of pollution hung above the town for five days and ultimately killed 20 people, while it also caused 6,000 more (nearly half the town's population at the time) to become sick. Four years later, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, London's "Killer Fog" took the lives of more than 3,000 people. The smog during this disaster was so dense that buses were unable to complete their usual routes without guides lighting their path in the street.In 1963, the United States government passed the first Clean Air Act and lead the way for studying air pollution and its effects. Seven years later, Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1970, a much stronger legislation that enforced restrictions and laws regarding air pollution, as opposed to the original act, which did little more than provide funding. The act, which is federal law that applies to the whole country, has much of its requirements met by individual states, local governments and tribes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was also created in 1970, and they've since been the body primarily responsible for carrying out Clean Air Act programs across the country. Congress heavily renovated and amplified the act in 1990, giving the EPA more control to enforce pollution regulations, while also increasing the effort to implement more cost-effective tactics to counteract air pollution. The EPA regulates certain air pollutants in order to protect the health of Americans as well the environment. The Clean Air Act also allows the EPA to limit emissions for pollutants coming from chemical plants, steel mills, utilities, and other industrial sources. Part of the EPA's role in the Clean Air Act is to approve local plans for fighting air pollution. If a state or tribe's plan fails to satisfy the EPA's minimum requirements, then they may have sanctions filed against them. States, tribes and other local governments also receive assistance from the EPA through the research, expert opinion, funding, and engineering designs they supply. The following are a few interesting facts that help illustrate how the Clean Air Act has affected the United States:? Since the Clean Air Act of 1970, there has been a decrease of over 50 percent in the six most common air pollutants? New vehicles are over 90 percent cleaner and manufacturers continue to design cleaner models every day? Most ozone-depleting chemicals are no longer in production? Chemical plants, paper mills and petroleum refineries have seen almost a 70 percent reduction in emissions of air pollutants
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A short, digestible history of the Clean Air Act in the United States
Jeffery Holter is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. In his spare time he enjoys reading non-fiction and doing his best to go green in his everyday life. For more information on keeping your company in compliance with the Clean Air Act through the use of regenerative thermal oxidizers visit OxidizerService.com.
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