Citation:

Ozone NAAQS Review: Policy Assessment .

Description:

Ozone is one of the six major air pollutants for which EPA has issued air quality criteria and established national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) based on those criteria. The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires EPA to periodically review and revise, as appropriate, existing air quality criteria and NAAQS. The CAA also requires an independent scientific committee to review the criteria and to advise the Administrator regarding any recommended revisions to the existing criteria and standards, as may be appropriate. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) of EPA's Science Advisory Board serves as this independent scientific committee. A policy assessment will be issued following the completion of the final integrated science and risk/exposure assessments.

Purpose/Objective:

The Policy Assessment is intended to help "bridge the gap" between the scientific information and assessment and the judgements required of the EPA Administrator in determining whether, and if so how, it is appropriate to revise the NAAQS for Ozone. The Policy Assessment will reflect EPA staff's views regarding the broadest array of options supported by the available information. The Policy Assessment will consider the available scientific evidence presented in the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) and the Risk/Expossure Analysis (REA), together with related limitations and uncertainties, and will focus on the basic elements of an air quality standard: indicator, averaging time, form, and level. These elements, which serve to define each NAAQS, will be considered collectively in evaluating the public health and welfare protection afforded by the standard(s). Following the review of the first draft of this document (Ozone NAAQS Policy Assessment - 1st Draft), a second draft will be produced and also provided to CASAC for review as well as made available to the public for review and comment. Both reviews are included in this record.

URLs/Downloads:

OZONE NAAQS POLICY ASSESSMENT CASAC REVIEW INFORMATION LINK   (PDF,NA pp, 48 KB,  about PDF)

Record Details:

Record Type: DOCUMENT (ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT)

Projected Completion Date: 05/31/2013

Record Last Revised: 10/26/2012

Record Created: 01/20/2012

Record Released: 01/20/2012

OMB Category: Highly Influential

Record ID: 240820

Organization:

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

OFFICE OF AIR AND RADIATION

OFFICE OF AIR QUALITY PLANNING AND STANDARDS

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DIVISION

AMBIENT STANDARDS GROUP