AN INTEGRATED, COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH TO AIR TOXICS REDUCTION

摘要

To date, US efforts to address human exposure to toxic air pollutants has proceeded with separate efforts addressing stationary, mobile, and indoor sources. In 2001, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) launched a new pilot project designed to use an integrated approach to reduce local risks from air toxics with voluntary measures. A key component of the pilot is the use of a community-based Working Group to guide decisions and get risk reduction projects in place. Members of this group include residents, neighborhood organizations, businesses, local officials, individuals from area colleges and universities, industry representatives, and environmental advocates. This paper briefly describes US EPA's program to address air toxics, describes the methods used to begin the community-based pilot, and examines key lessons to date. Particularly, the challenge of taking action in the face of imperfect information is discussed.