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Monday, August 25th, 2014

Thanks To The Clean Air Act, We Breathe 3 Million Fewer Tons Of Toxins Each Year

Author:     EMILY ATKIN
Source:     Climate Progress
Publication Date:     August 22, 2014 at 9:28 am
 Link: Thanks To The Clean Air Act, We Breathe 3 Million Fewer Tons Of Toxins Each Year
Stephan:   More good news. The Clean Air Act, which the Theocratic Right has been trying to undermine since it was passed, we now know, based on actual data, has done great good. Not enough to be sure, but at least a step in the right direction.
CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

Actions taken by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act have caused U.S. toxic air emissions to drop ‘significantly” – in some cases by more than half – since the law was amended in 1990, the regulatory agency told Congress in a report Thursday.

Since 1990, an estimated 3 million tons of toxins from mobile and stationary sources have been removed from the air every year, according to the report. Emissions of benzene, a pollutant found in natural gas, have dropped in outdoor air by 66 percent, while the amount of mercury from man-made sources like coal plants has dropped by nearly 60 percent, the report said. The amount of lead has decreased the most, by 84 percent since 1990.

‘This report gives everyone fighting for clean air a lot to be proud of,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement accompanying the report. ‘But we know our work is not done yet. … we are committed to reducing remaining pollution, especially in low-income neighborhoods.”

The report released Thursday is called the Second Integrated […]

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