Air Pollution Control

Today we will be discussing air pollution control.  Specifically, we will be finding information from the Ohio EPA website, http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dapc/sip/sip.aspx . 

So how is the objective of having clean air achieved?  Well, there are State Implementation Plans, also known as SIP’s that are basically a set of rules (regulations) that are set in order to help maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.  This is also known as the NAAQS and these standards are for the six criteria pollutants.  These six criteria pollutants include ozone, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, lead and carbon monoxide.  PM2.5 stands for particulate matter up to 2.5 micrometers in size.  The most recent standard set for ozone since 1997 was made in 2008 and this 2008 eight-hour ozone standard is 0.075 ppm.  The standard in 1997 was 0.08 ppm as the eight-hour ozone standard.  There are three different standards for the PM2.5.  The first is the 1997 Annual standard which is 15.0 µg/m3.  The next standard was in 2006 and is a 24-hour standard of 35µg/m3.  The last standard for PM2.5 is the 2012 Annual standard of 12.0 µg/m3.  The US EPA changed its standard for nitrogen oxides in 2010.  The standard used to be a one-hour primary standard of 53 ppb.  After the recent change, the new one-hour standard for nitrogen oxides is 100 ppb.  The standard for sulfur dioxide was also changed in 2010 from its previous standard to a new one-hour primary standard of 75 ppb.  Lead had a huge change in it’s standard in the year 2008.  The standard USED to be 1.5 µg/m3, but after the change the new standard is now set at .15 µg/m3.  According to the site http://www.southwestohioair.org/naaqs.html , the standard of carbon monoxide is 35 parts per million.  The eight-hour average for carbon monoxide according to the same source is 9 parts per million.  This is according to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.  When reading about these six criteria air pollutants you might come across the words attainment and nonattainment.  What is the difference you ask?  Well, according to the site http://www.deq.state.ne.us/AirWaves.nsf/cf7e4bdd49c643bf8625747f005a1515/3b00b887a2bae40b8625748e005ffbf5 , if an area has a criteria pollutant over the allowed standard, then that area is described as a nonattainment.  Therefore, an area where a criteria air pollutant is below the required standard then that area is describes as an attainment.  So, with that being said, what is the state of Ohio considered, attainment or nonattainment?  Well, according to the site http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageId=282 , Ohio would not be able to be described as an attainment as a whole because there are areas, especially near Cleveland that are exceeding the ozone standard.  Thus, Ohio is a nonattainment because it has areas where a criteria pollutant is exceeding the standard allowed.  These air quality standards in Ohio are enforced by the EPA who basically has the power of law and writing regulations about air pollution control.  I hope this article was helpful in providing some helpful information about air pollution control in Ohio and also about the six criteria air pollutants and their standards.