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UNIFIED AIR TOXICS WEBSITE
Description:
Toxic air pollutants are also referred to as air toxics or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). They are generally defined as those pollutants that are known or suspected to cause serious health problems. Routine toxic air pollutants are emitted by a variety of industrial sources and motor vehicles. In addition to routine releases, sudden accidental air releases of toxics potentially threaten many Americans. Toxic air pollutants may exist as particulate matter or as vapors (gases). Toxic air pollutants include metals, other particles, gases adsorbed on to particles, and certain vapors from fuels and other sources. An example of such a pollutant is the chemical benzene, which is in gasoline. Inhaling fumes that contain benzene could increase your chances of getting cancer. There are many different Federal, State, Tribal and Local Agencies performing work in the air toxics arena. The work one State may be doing could directly benefit another State with similar air toxics scenarios. Within the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) there are many different program offices working on different pieces of the the air toxics puzzle. We call this site unified because we hope this website will become a central clearinghouse and repository for air toxics information from all of these entities--and by sharing information and data, reduce duplication of effort wherever possible.