CommentaryThe Impact of the Clean Air Act
Section snippets
A History of the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency
Key federal legislation related to clean air is summarized in Table I. The first legislation involving air pollution was enacted in 1955, and it authorized funds for air pollution research.2, 3 It was followed 8 years later by legislation to control air pollution. The Clean Air Act of 1970 represented a major shift in the responsibility of the federal government for limiting the exposure of US citizens to air pollution by authorizing regulations limiting harmful emissions from stationary and
Adverse Effects of Air Pollution on Children
There are several lines of evidence suggesting that the health consequences of air pollution are not distributed equally among the population. Children are more susceptible and at greater risk.5 Compared to adults, children have unique developmental and physiologic differences that impact health and disease, differences that increase their vulnerability to air pollution.6 The health effects of air pollution on children are summarized in Table III. Lung development begins in utero but continues
Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution and Birth Weight
Multiple studies have demonstrated a relationship between air pollution and lower birth weight31, 32, 33, 34 with subsequent increased risk for the development of respiratory diseases and diminished lung function. Reduced lung function in infancy predicts low lung function later in life,35 suggesting that early influences on respiratory health have lasting impact. In a community-based prospective study of pregnant women living in 4 residential areas of Beijing, China, which included >74 000
Air Pollution and Infant Mortality
Air pollution is associated with increased postneonatal infant mortality, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).38, 39, 40, 41 Using time-series analyses, the relationship between daily air pollution levels and daily SIDS rates was studied in 12 Canadian cities over a 16-year period.40 Average levels of all pollutants were well within current EPA standards for criteria pollutants (Table II). Higher levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide were associated with
Air Pollution Negatively Impacts Lung Growth
Numerous studies using animal models have demonstrated interrupted lung development due to exposure to pollutants, as reviewed elsewhere.7 These findings are reflected in several clinical studies that showed exposure to air pollution was associated with impaired lung growth in children that may be permanent.
Two decades ago, the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey established an association between chronic exposure to air pollution and reduced pulmonary function.5, 44 In a
Air Pollution and Respiratory Illnesses in Children
Children of all ages are at risk for suffering respiratory symptoms related to air pollution exposure, but children with chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, may be particularly at risk. Although asthma is a multifactorial disease, evidence that exposure to airborne pollutants is associated with asthma inception, asthma exacerbations, and severity of asthma symptoms will be reviewed later. This is an important public health concern, because asthma is one of the most common chronic
The Economic Costs of Air Pollution
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 included requirements that the EPA perform periodic benefit-cost analyses of the impact of the regulations. To date, 3 in-depth analyses have been performed. The first was a retrospective analysis that estimated the benefits and costs of the initial Clean Air Act regulations before 1990 by comparing the differences between historical environmental and economic conditions observed with the Clean Air Act in place and hypothetical scenarios that projected
Discussion
We have come a long way since the catastrophic Donora smog. We know that levels of air pollution below current standards are unhealthy, particularly for vulnerable populations, such as children with respiratory diseases.59, 62, 63 In 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement that argued current standards for several critical pollutants were inadequate and should be reevaluated.70 The recent EPA recommendation to strengthen ozone standards was based on these and other valid
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An acute exposure to ozone impairs human olfactory functioning
2018, Environmental ResearchCitation Excerpt :The irritant gas ozone is the most reactive gas species to which humans are environmentally exposed to (Pryor, 1992). It is one of the major air pollutants known for its negative effects on different health issues (e.g. (Devlin et al., 2012; Ross et al., 2012; Turner et al., 2016)). In 1955, ground-level ozone concentration peaked at 0.68 ppm in downtown Los Angeles (South Coast Air Quality Management District, 1997).
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.