A number of air pollutants can cause damage to health. Six major air pollutants (carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide) have been identified as causing health effects at concentrations in the ambient air (the
A number of air pollutants can cause damage to health. Six major air pollutants (carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide) have been identified as causing health effects at concentrations in the ambient air (the outside air we breathe) above thresholds established at levels known to be safe.
These pollutants are referred to as "criteria pollutants," and National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) has been established for each based on health-related criteria and data.
Carbon monoxide is produced primarily by motor vehicles. It can reduce a person's ability to think clearly and causes visual impairment and headaches if high enough concentrations are experienced for a long period of time. Long-term monitoring in Florida shows a significant decrease in carbon monoxide concentrations. Urban areas that use to suffer occasional high levels of carbon monoxide are no longer violating the air quality standard.
As the result of vehicle emissions controls and local measures to reduce traffic congestion, Florida has not recorded a violation of the carbon monoxide standard since 1986.
For many years, lead was primarily emitted to the atmosphere from motor vehicles that burned leaded gasoline. Lead can affect the central nervous system and lead to anemia. The young and the elderly are most susceptible to the harmful effects of lead.
Over the last 10 years, the lead content of fuels has been reduced, and, today, almost all fuels are lead-free. With the phase-out of leaded gasoline, exposure to this pollutant by inhalation has become far less likely.
Ambient air concentrations of lead in Florida reflect the decrease in auto emissions. Except for locations very near a small number of stationary sources that emit significant amounts of lead - such as secondary lead smelters - lead concentrations in Florida's air are nearly zero.
Nitrogen dioxide, which is a primary component of nitrogen oxides (NOx), is produced when fuel is burned in motor vehicles, power plants, industrial boilers and other sources.
Nitrogen dioxide can place a strain on the heart and respiratory system and can increase a person's susceptibility to respiratory infections.
Monitors in Florida have never measured a violation of the ambient standard for NO2.
The 1990 federal Clean Air Act Amendments require further reductions of NOx emissions because of their relationship to acid rain and ozone formation. As a result, we expect no violations of the ambient air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide in