(AGENPARL) – lun 21 agosto 2023 Issued: Aug 21, 2023 (3:53pm EDT)
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EPA Initiates New Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
to Reflect the Latest Science
WASHINGTON (August 21, 2023)  – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced a new review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) to ensure the standards reflect the most current, relevant
science and protect people’s health from these harmful pollutants. EPA
Administrator Michael Regan reached this decision after carefully considering
advice provided by the independent Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
(CASAC). In October 2021, EPA announced a reconsideration of the previous
Administration’s decision to retain the NAAQS for ozone. EPA is
incorporating the ongoing reconsideration into the review announced today and
will consider the advice and recommendations of the CASAC in that review. The
Agency will move swiftly to execute this new review of the underlying science
and the standards – prioritizing transparency, scientific integrity,
inclusive public engagement, and environmental justice.
“After carefully reviewing the advice of the independent scientific panel, I
am convinced that a full and complete review of the ozone NAAQS is warranted
to ensure a thorough and transparent assessment of the latest science,” said
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.  “From the start, I committed that EPA
will uphold the integrity of independent, robust processes to ensure that air
quality standards reflect the latest science in order to best protect people
from pollution. As we initiate a new review, EPA will continue to work closely
with our partners at the state, tribal and local levels to fully implement the
existing standards, consistent with our Clean Air Act obligations.”
Exposure to ground-level ozone can cause respiratory issues, aggravate asthma
and other lung diseases, and may lead to missed days of work or school,
emergency room visits, and premature deaths. These costly public health
impacts can be especially harmful to children and older adults,
disproportionately affecting people of color, families with low-incomes, and
other vulnerable populations.
Nationally, due in part to strong EPA emission standards that reduce air
pollution, ozone air quality is improving. Between 2010 and 2022, national
average ozone air quality concentrations have dropped 7 percent. In many of
the areas designated as not meeting the current 2015 standards, work remains.
To continue progress in reducing ozone, EPA has initiated important regulatory
actions including strong new federal emissions standards for cars and trucks
and strengthening rules to reduce pollution from the oil and natural gas
industry – a leading source of ozone forming volatile organic compounds. 
Taken together, the projected benefits of these and other actions addressing
industrial and power sector emissions, such as with the Good Neighbor Plan,
would cut emissions of ozone precursors by hundreds of thousands of tons with
estimated health benefits adding up to billions of dollars.
The new review will allow EPA to consider fully the information about the
latest ozone science and potential implications for the ozone NAAQS provided
by the CASAC and the Ozone Review Panel. EPA will conduct the review according
to well-established best practices and processes that embrace scientific
integrity and the role of the public to provide input at multiple steps along
the way.
Concrete, transparent and public next steps include: 
Issuing a call for information in the Federal Register in the next few
days; 
convening a public science and policy workshop in spring 2024 to gather input
from the scientific community and the public; 
in summer 2024, EPA will summarize the proceedings of the workshop to consider
how the information gathered can be used to inform the next review, including
specific areas of science that warrant particular focus and analytic
enhancements; 
in fall 2024 the agency plans to release its Integrated Review Plan, Volume 2
to guide CASAC consideration and development of the Integrated Science
Assessment.
EPA established the current standards at a level of 70 parts per billion in
2015 and retained them in 2020, after concluding that there was little new
information to suggest the need for revision. The CASAC, however, has
identified studies published more recently and also recommended that EPA
conduct additional risk analyses that might support more stringent standards.
EPA has determined that incorporating the ongoing reconsideration into a new
review will best ensure full consideration of this new information and advice.
More information about ground-level ozone and the most recent review of the
ozone NAAQS
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