Newsletters

EPA's Phaseout of Diazinon

In December 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that, pursuant to an agreement with manufacturers of diazinon, all residential uses of diazinon, one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States, would be phased out. Diazinon is an organophosphate insecticide that is relatively persistent, which means that it does not readily break down in to non-harmful byproducts.

Nitrogen oxides

Nitrogen oxides are a group of gases made up of various combinations of nitrogen and oxygen. Together, the nitrogen oxides are treated together as 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. Nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere as a byproduct of fuel combustion of all kinds.

Protection of Children's Health from Environmental Risks

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.

Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste

High-level radioactive waste is made up almost exclusively of the spent fuel from nuclear power plants and makes up by volume a very small percentage of all of the radioactive waste produced in the United States. However, because it contains potentially lethal amounts of radiation that cannot be decreased by any process except the passage of thousands of years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires that special precautions be taken in the handling and disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

Visibility and the EPA's Regional Haze Program

To address the problem of visibility and the related environmental and health effects of visibility impairing pollutants, which affect among others 280 million annual visitors to our national parks and wilderness areas, in 1999 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Regional Haze Rule (RHR), which represents a concerted effort to improve the visibility in 156 national parks and wilderness areas. Recognizing that haze can be spread over wide areas, the EPA assigns each state, whether or not it contains national parks or wilderness areas, to one of five multi-state regional planning organizations.