The EPA started the new year off with a move it says will ultimately reduce the emissions of gases that contribute heavily to air pollution, including the formation of smog and acid rain. On January 6, 2020, the agency issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rule (ANPR) soliciting pre-proposal comments on the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI).

Raising fuel economy standards will also raise the price of new vehicles and prevent families from purchasing newer, safer cars and trucks, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deputy Administrator (NHTSA) Heidi King told Congress on Thursday. “We know that newer cars are safer and cleaner than older cars. We also know that consumers can choose whether to keep their older car or to purchase a newer, safer, cleaner car."

A World Health Organization (WHO) report, published late last year, highlighted the latest scientific evidence linking exposure to air pollution to adverse health effects in children. It wrote that although air pollution is widely recognized as a major health threat causing about 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year, the critical aspect that it is affecting children in uniquely damaging ways is often overlooked.

Pollution at London Underground tube stations is up to 30 times higher than in busy roads in the capital, research has found, potentially putting the health of staff and thousands of London commuters at risk. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) said there is “likely” to be some health risks associated with the high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) on the London Underground network.

As countries across the world celebrate “Clean Air Day” this month, Casella is celebrating the successful deployment of an online monitoring system for city roadside dust located in Shanghai, China.

New Englanders can get a heads’ up on smoggy conditions that may affect their health with some free resources being offered by the EPA and their states. The warm weather up ahead brings with it an increased risk of ground-level ozone and fine particle air pollution (when combined, often referred to as smog).

New California rules aimed at curbing the surprising amount of pollution coming from leaf blowers, lawn mowers and other small gas-powered machines cleared a final hurdle Monday, and are set to take effect on Jan. 1. The requirements mark another step in the state’s long-running battle to reduce emissions from a category of small engines that have come to rival cars as a source of smog-forming pollution.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and the federal government have settled a case arising from the company being charged with violating the Clean Air Act due to air pollution violations at eight petrochemical plants in Texas and Louisiana. News sources say the company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty related the violations and spend approximately $300 million to install new equipment to improve operation and monitoring of industrial flares at the facilities.

The EPA’s announcement yesterday that it is reversing its decision to delay for one year designation of areas not meeting the 2015 ozone standards is being met with approval by the American Lung Association, American Public Health Association and American Thoracic Society.

Maryland state senator Richard S. Madaleno, Jr (D-District 18) has introduced a measure calling for stricter monitoring of air pollutants emitted by factory farms, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).