| Carbon monoxide |
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| Carbon monoxide is one of the six common pollutants--referred to by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as "criteria pollutants"--for which the EPA sets air quality standards under the mandates of the Clean Air Act. Although carbon monoxide poisoning is often associated with faulty heating equipment in houses and apartments, unhealthful carbon monoxide concentrations can accumulate outside as well. More... |
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| The Clean Air Interstate Rule |
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| The Clean Air Interstate Rule focuses on the 29 eastern states, plus the District of Columbia, which have failed to attain national air quality standards for the emission of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides. The Clean Air Interstate Rule calls for a reduction in the emission of sulfur dioxide by 3.6 million tons starting in 2010 and by an additional 2 million tons per year starting in 2015. More... |
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| Lead-based paint |
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| Lead-based paint was completely banned in 1978, but in older homes the dust and paint chips that result from paint deterioration continue to pose a health hazard. The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (PHRA) was passed with the goal of eliminating lead-based paint hazards in housing. More... |
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| The Coastal Zone Management Act and the Coastal Zone Enhancement Grants Program |
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| Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) in 1972 to protect the coastal zones of the United States from the increasingly adverse effects of population growth and widespread development. The CZMA was amended in 1990 in order to expand the ability of states to address coastal environmental issues. Some of the amendments established the Coastal Zone Enhancement Grants Program (CZEGP). More... |
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| The Kyoto Protocol |
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| In 1997, 170 countries met in Kyoto, Japan, to negotiate an extension of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) that would impose mandatory reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Negotiations stalled over the relative amount of reductions each country would be responsible for.In the end, a compromise was worked out by which Japan was to reduce emissions by six percent, the United States by 7 percent, and the European Union by 8 percent. Other industrialized countries, with a few exceptions, were required to reduce their emissions within a similar range. The plan under which the emissions reductions were to carried out was called the Kyoto Protocol. More... |
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