Lead 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. Lead is a naturally occurring metal that has unique properties and has been used almost throughout civilization for a wide variety of purposes even though its highly toxic nature has been recognized for thousands of years. Lead compounds are emitted into the air primarily from metal-processing operations, large incinerators, lead-acid battery manufacturers, and gasoline combustion.
The Coastal Barriers Resources Act (CBRA) was the result of the realization by Congress that coastal barrier land masses were a tremendously valuable natural resource and that because of their inherent vulnerability to erosion and storms, they were not well-suited to development. In order to both protect coastal barrier habitats and minimize the wasteful expenditure of federal funds, the CBRA was passed in 1982 to identify undeveloped coastal barrier land masses and restrict federal funding for such areas.
In 1996, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a report entitled "Environmental Health Threats to Children," which acknowledged that children are at particular risk from pollution because their systems are still developing, their organs and tissues are immature and more vulnerable, and their immune systems are weaker. The EPA report established the National Agenda to Protect Children's Health from Environmental Threats (Children's Health Agenda), which outlines the EPA's role in protecting the health of children.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set air quality standards for certain types of pollutants, referred to as "criteria pollutants," one of which is particulate matter. The EPA considers particulate matter pollution to be its most serious air quality problem.
Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is a byproduct of the radioactive element radium. In 1988, Congress passed the Radon Reduction Act (RRA) as an additional subchapter of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which was enacted in 1976. The stated objective of the RRA was to reduce radon levels inside buildings to the same level as found in outside air.
