Clean Air Act Facts
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Protecting the
Air pollution comes from many sources
such as factories, power plants, dry Vermillion River:
cleaners, vehicles and even windblown
Your Recreational Area
dust and wildfires.
Air pollution can threaten the health of Part 10 – Understanding the
human beings, trees, lakes, crops, and Clean Air Act
animals.
Air pollution also can cause haze,
Lafayette Airport Commission
Lafayette Regional Airport
reducing visibility.
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA sets limits
on how much of a pollutant is allowed
in the air.
Although national air quality has
improved, many challenges remain in
protecting public health and the
environment.
Lafayette Airport
Commission
222 Tower Drive
Lafayette, LA 70508
Phone: 337-266-4401
Fax: 337-266-4410
www.lftairport.com Picture from the following web site: lcv.org
Picture from the following web site: atsdr.cdc.gov
your eyes and nose, irritate your throat and
make breathing difficult. In fact, pollutants like
tiny airborne particles and ground level ozone
can trigger respiratory problems, especially for
Picture from the following website: frw.ca.com people with asthma. Air pollution can also Photo from the following website: http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.index
aggravate health problems for the elderly and
What started the Clean Air How can I find more info on
others with heart or respiratory diseases.
Act? Additionally, some toxic chemicals released in
the air pollution in my
In October 1948, a thick cloud of air pollution
the air such as benzene or vinyl chloride are
area?
formed above the town of Donora, PA. The By checking your areas information found in the
highly toxic and can cause cancer, birth defects,
cloud lingered for five days killing 20 people and "Air Quality Index" (AQI), which is a "public-
long term injury to the lungs, brain and nerve
caused sickness in 6,000 of the town's 14,000 friendly" way of using actual monitoring data to
damage and in some cases even death. Also
residences. Also in 1952, over 3,000 people died help assess how clean our air is, you can find
other pollutants make their way up into the
in London's "Killer Fog." The smog was so thick info on the air quality in your area. You also
atmosphere, causing a thinning of the ozone
that buses could not run without guides walking may hear about the AQI on many radio stations,
layer. This has led to increases in skin cancers
ahead of them carrying lanterns. Events like TV programs, and newspapers. Additionally,
and cataracts.
these alerted us to the dangers of air pollution. weather forecasters talk about the AQI- telling
Laws were passed, including the original Clean you what air quality condition is in effect.
Air Act of 1963 that established funding for the The AQI tracks pollution for your local area. The
study and the cleanup of air pollution. But there color codes, which range from green (clean) to
was no far-reaching response to air pollution purple (hazardous), correspond to specific
until Congress passed a stronger Clean Air Act in pollution levels. Additional information on the
1970. AQI and on the air quality in your area can be
How can air pollution affect found at: www.airnow.gov.
you? Information for this brochure is from the EPA’s Plain English Guide to the
Clean Air Act website: .
Each of us breathes more than 3,000 gallons of
Picture from the following web site: seattle.gov
air every day. Breathing polluted air can burn