|  | Public Health Safety | Environmental Health

EPA Priority Pollutants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, leads the fight against pollutants in the United States. One of its top priorities is to determine the leading pollutants and to educate the public while enforcing pollution regulations. Pollution categories each contain priority pollutants, as designated by the EPA, with many pollutants crossing over into different arenas, such as air and water pollution. The EPA also recognizes pollutants as causing global warming, indoor air pollution, acid rain, as well as e-pollution, which concerns harmful pollutants contained in disposed electronics.

  1. General EPA Priorities

    • The EPA categorizes two major areas of pollution as air pollution and water pollution. There are numerous others, including toxic chemical dumping and organic pollutants. Many of these categories overlap as chemical dumping may seep into a water supply, causing water pollution and air contaminates settling on the ground. Each category has its own list of priority pollutants.

    Priority Air Pollutants

    • Air pollution is a primary concern to the EPA since it affects many other forms of pollution. The priority air pollutants, as determined by the EPA, are: particulate matter, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and lead. Although lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide are common effects of emissions from cars and factories, ground-level ozone is a reaction of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds at ground level. Particulate matter may be any debris in the air, including acids, organic chemicals, metals and soil matter.

    Priority Water Pollutants

    • The EPA defines the priority water pollutants within the Clean Water Act, with the overwhelming majority being chemical and metal in nature. According to the list of priority pollutants found on the "Scorecard" pollution information site, priority water pollutants listed in the Clean Air Act include arsenic, benzene, beryllium, cadmium, carbon tetrachloride, cyanide, lead, mercury and many others.

    Other Priority Pollutants

    • Global warming, e-waste and indoor air pollution are areas of regulation for the EPA. According to "The Washington Times," carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydroflourocarbons and sulphur hexaflouride are the priority global warming pollutants. The vast amount of consumer electronics waste has created e-waste, which ends up polluting landfills and water supplies. E-waste includes these priority pollutants: lead, mercury and cadmium. Radon, the priority indoor air pollutant, is a form of radiation caused by the decomposition of uranium in soil and water. Radon is a major cause of lung cancer.

Environmental Health - Related Articles