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Using Science to Shape Policy

  • Chapter
Air Pollution and Health Effects

Part of the book series: Molecular and Integrative Toxicology ((MOLECUL))

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Abstract

The Clean Air Act (CAA) is responsible for dramatically improving United States air quality over the last 40 years. The scientific community has served as the backbone of that improvement. Experimental sciences, animal toxicology and controlled human exposures, have played valuable roles in deciphering the mechanisms of air pollution-related health effects and in some cases clearly demonstrating the overt health effects that result from exposure to air pollutants. However, at times the research community is unaware of how their contributions to science are used to inform policy decisions in the context of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Within this chapter, researchers will gain a better understanding of the legislative history and requirements of the CAA. Additionally, the chapter will detail how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluates the scientific evidence that forms the basis of each NAAQS along with the resulting steps taken to inform policy decisions. The chapter will conclude with a discussion of the uncertainties that still shape air quality policy, the shift that has taken within the air pollution research community towards the examination of multipollutant exposures, and the potential future of air quality policy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    As with all major rulemaking, the development of a proposed and final rule undergoes extensive internal EPA review as well as interagency review. The interagency review is coordinated through the Office of Management and Budget and includes review from other agencies across the Federal government.

  2. 2.

    Analysis of the American Cancer Society cohort has found that education modifies the PM2.5 mortality relationship, such that populations with less than a grade 12 education are at greater risk of PM2.5-related death.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Steven Dutton, John Vandenberg, Bryan Hubbell, Beth Hassett-Sipple, and Kelly Rimer (U.S. EPA) for their critical review of this manuscript. The authors especially thank Ms. Dana Buchbinder for her editorial support and technical assistance.

Disclosures

None

Disclaimer

This book chapter has been reviewed by the Office of Research & Development (ORD) and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS/Office of Air and Radiation) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and approved for publication. Although the research described in this article has been supported by the U.S. EPA, it does not necessarily reflect the views of the agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, B243-01, U.S. EPA, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA

    Jason D. Sacks M.P.H

  2. National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive (MS A-110), Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA

    Elizabeth Oesterling Owens Ph.D.

  3. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air and Radiation, C539-07, U.S. EPA, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA

    Neal Fann M.P.P

  4. E205-09, Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27711, USA

    Daniel L. Costa Sc.D., DABT

Authors
  1. Jason D. Sacks M.P.H
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  2. Neal Fann M.P.P
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  3. Elizabeth Oesterling Owens Ph.D.
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  4. Daniel L. Costa Sc.D., DABT
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason D. Sacks M.P.H .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA

    Srikanth S. Nadadur

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    John W. Hollingsworth

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag London

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Sacks, J.D., Fann, N., Owens, E.O., Costa, D.L. (2015). Using Science to Shape Policy. In: Nadadur, S., Hollingsworth, J. (eds) Air Pollution and Health Effects. Molecular and Integrative Toxicology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6669-6_15

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