U.S. EPA released the Second Integrated Urban Air Toxics Report to Congress which is the final of two reports required under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to inform Congress of progress in reducing public health risks from urban air toxics.

Air toxics, also known as toxic air pollutants or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), are those pollutants that cause or may cause cancer or other serious health effects or adverse environmental and ecological effects. The CAA identifies 187 HAPs that EPA is required to protect public health. More specifically, to address HAPs in urban areas, Section 112(k) of the CAA directs EPA to identify a subset of 30 HAPs that present the greatest threat to public health in the largest number of urban areas. These 30 HAPs are known as the 30 Urban Air toxics.

The report highlights some of the results achieved through EPA’s air toxics regulations:

• 66% reduction in benzene,
• Nearly 60% reduction in mercury from man-made sources like coal-fired power plants,
• 84% decrease of lead in outdoor air, which slows brain development in children,
• Removal of an estimated 1.5 million tons per year of air toxics like arsenic, benzene, lead and nickel from stationary sources and another 1.5 million tons per year of air toxics from mobile sources, and
• Approximately 3 million tons per year of criteria pollutants, like particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, have been reduced from cars and trucks.

More information at http://www2.epa.gov/urban-air-toxics