One source of nitrogen dioxide is the tailpipe of your car (Source: Jensbn at Wikimedia Commons)
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to make
the limit on nitrogen dioxide tighter. It’s a
pollutant that’s emitted by power plants, and we
all spew it from our cars’ tailpipes. Rebecca Williams
has more:
Transcript
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to make
the limit on nitrogen dioxide tighter. It’s a
pollutant that’s emitted by power plants, and we
all spew it from our cars’ tailpipes. Rebecca Williams
has more:
Nitrogen dioxide is bad stuff. It’s part of smog and it can trigger asthma attacks and other serious lung problems.
Bonnie Holmes-Gen is with the American Lung Association.
“People can have effects from exposure to nitrogen dioxide for even 30 minutes to an hour. This exposure is particularly harmful to anyone with asthma or other lung illnesses.”
There’s already a national standard for long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide.
EPA wants to set a national standard for short-term exposure. And the American Lung Association thinks that’s great, but they want the long-term standard to be even tighter.
A tighter standard will mean cutting back on smokestack emissions and tailpipe pollution… and that’s always a tough sell.
For The Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.