AIR POLLUTION EVENTS IN HISTORY

http://www.extraordinaryroadtrip.org/research-library/air-pollution/history/default.asp

1820s-1920s

1827: French scientist J.B. Fourier outlines atmospheric process by which earth’s temperature is altered, using a hothouse analogy.

1880s: First U.S. municipal smoke abatement laws aimed at reducing black smoke and ash from factories, railroads, and ships. Regulation under local boards of health.

1909: Glasgow, Scotland, winter inversions and smoke accumulations kill over 1,000 people. Preparing a report about the incidents, Dr. Harold Antoine Des Voeux coins term “smog” as a contraction for smoke-fog.

1921: General Motors' researchers discover tetraethyl lead as an anti-knock gasoline additive. Despite warnings about its danger, the new gasoline goes on sale without safety tests within 14 months.

1926: First large-scale survey of air pollution in U.S., in Salt Lake City.

1928: PHS begins checking air pollution in eastern U.S. cities, reporting sunlight cut by 20 to 50 percent in New York City.

1940s-1950s

1947: Los Angeles Air Pollution Control District formed; first air pollution control bureau in the nation.

1948: Air pollution inversion episode in Donora, Pennsylvania, kills 20 people and makes 40 percent of the town’s 14,000 inhabitants ill.

1948: 600 deaths in London due to smog.

1949: Public Health Service sponsors the first national conference on air pollution.

1950s: Dr. Haagen-Smit identifies the photochemical nature of smog.

1952: Sulfur-laden smog covers London and is responsible for 4,000 deaths over a two-week period.

1953: New York smog incident kills between 170 and 260 in November.

1955: Congress passes Air Pollution Research Act.

1960s

1963: Air pollution inversion in New York leads to 405 deaths.

1963: Clean Air Act of 1963 – beginning of federal government's influence over mobile source emissions. Encouraged the development of emission control devices.

1963: California Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Act required manufacturers to install exhaust emissions control equipment on all new cars sold in California after the state had certified that feasible technology existed at reasonable cost. This led to exhaust emission equipment being installed on California vehicles during the 1966 model year.

1965: Clean Air Act amended to set hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide standards for passenger cars and light duty trucks produced for 1968 model year.

1966: Air pollution inversion in New York leads to 168 deaths.

1967: Air Quality Control Act passed by Congress, setting timetable for states to establish their own air quality standards.

1967: California Legislature establishes the Air Resources Board (ARB). Its duties include:

•Attain and maintain healthy air quality

•Conduct research into causes of and solution to air pollution

•Systematically attack the serious pollution caused by motor vehicles, which (the State believes) are the cause of air pollution in California.

1970s-1980s

1970: First Earth Day celebration.

1970: Congress passes the Clean Air Act, allowing the newly created Environmental Protection Agency to set national air quality standards. Also allowed states to establish their own stricter standards, which California was the first state to take such action.

1975: Catalytic converter developed and used on auto emissions systems. This development cuts hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions by 96 percent and nitrogen oxides by 75 percent.

1977: Revised Clean Air Act Amendments passed by Congress, providing more time for areas with more serious air quality problems to comply with standards. Vehicle evaporative emissions standards created.

1980: With phase out of lead in gasoline, blood-lead levels drop by 50%.

1981: Federal Tier 0 emission standards implemented.

1984: Methyl isocyanate gas release from Union Carbide plant kills 16,000 people.

1987: Indoor Air Quality Act first introduced into Congress to address the pervasive problem of indoor air pollution.

1989: EPA publishes first Toxic Release Inventory.

1990s

1990: National ban on smoking aboard domestic flights enacted, protecting passengers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

1990: Congress passes further revisions to Clean Air Act Amendments, this time providing more time to comply with standards but requiring that cities implement specific air pollution control measures.

1990: California Low Emissions Vehicle Program established with implementation in 2003 model year.

1992: The Energy Policy Act (Epact) was passed by Congress to reduce our nations dependence on imported petroleum. The law requires certain fleets (Federal, State, and Alternative Fuel Providers) to purchase a specified percent of their new vehicle purchases as Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV’s). Alternative Fuels covered by the act include:

        Methanol and Ethanol in blends of 85% or more with gasoline<

        Natural Gas, and liquefied fuels domestically produced from Natural Gas

        Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or Propane)

        Coal-derived liquid fuels

        Hydrogen and electricity

        Biodiesel (B100)—added in 2001

1993: EPA reviews ozone standard, but chooses not to revise it.

1994: DOE establishes the Clean Cities Program. This program is a voluntary, public-private partnership designed to raise the awareness on improving air quality, strengthening the local economy, and enhancing appreciation for alternative fuels. Presently, there are about 80 Clean Cities coalitions in the US.

1994: Ford Motor Company, working in partnership with the State of California sells over 2000 Taurus Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV’s) that operate on M85 in the state, mostly to private individuals. The State supports the effort with the establishment of Methanol refueling stations.

1994: Federal Tier I emissions standards implemented.

1996: California clean burning reformulated gasoline implemented.

1997: EPA strengthens the National Ambient Air Quality standard for particulate matter and ozone air pollution.

1999: Clinton Administration announces federal plan that would for the first time require all private passenger vehicles – including sport-utility vehicles and diesel-powered vehicles – to meet the same tough clean air standards.

1999: Auto manufacturers, EPA, and some Northeast states enter into voluntary agreement to offer National Low Emission Vehicles.

1999: California Fuel Cell Partnership established. Auto manufacturers, energy companies, fuel cell and technology companies, and government agencies collaborate to advance new vehicle technology.

2000s

2000: EPA passes new rule for diesel, capping sulfur levels in diesel fuel at 15 parts per million by 2007.

2001: Biodiesel (B100) designated an alternative fuel by DOE, and added to Epact.

2002: DOE announces the Freedom CAR Program—a Federal/private industry project with Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler to fund research into advanced Hydrogen technologies, such as Fuel Cell development.

2003: EPA proposes new non-road diesel emissions reduction plan.

2004: The EPA Tier II new vehicle emission regulations take effect, reducing smog-forming emissions by over 99% compared to pre-control levels.

2004: California Low Emission Vehicle-2 program takes effect.

2004: DOE launches a series of Hydrogen Education Workshops in Lansing, Mi—the first of six. These events are designed to educate State governments on Hydrogen Power—“The Promise, The Challenge”.

2004: DOE releases long-term Hydrogen research plan

2004: California ARB reports that pollution in the Los Angles area (considered by the State to be the most seriously polluted region in the US) has dropped by 25% since 1980, and that exposure to LA smog has decreased by 50%.