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EXAMINATION OF U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY CRITERIA FOR OZONE FROM A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE
Citation:
Cox, L H. EXAMINATION OF U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY CRITERIA FOR OZONE FROM A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE. Bulletin of the International Statistical Institute, Proceedings of the 52nd Session: Invited Papers.
Description:
There is recent international interest, e.g., by the U.K. Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, in using statistics to express and evaluate environmental regulatory criteria (Barnett and O'Hagan, 1997; Cox et al. 1999). In the United States, recent review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards led to revision of the U.S. regulatory criteria for ambient ozone and particulate matter. This in turn led to scientific and policy debates resulting in a decision to postpone implementation of the new regulations pending a second review, scheduled during 2000-2002.
Statistical issues include examining the effects of Types I and II errors arising from sampling and measurement error. Our research is directed at developing a methodology for examining the problem of dealing with uncertainty and variation in environmental regulations and compliance criteria. Our current approach is illustrated through statistical analysis of the recent standard, promulgated in 1979, and the revised (1997) standard for ambient ozone, using data collected at ambient ozone monitors in California's San Joaquin Valley during summer 1990. This paper presents preliminary findings based on quantifying measurement error or precision in terms of small-scale spatial and temporal variability, laying the groundwork for future work.