2 Lawrence K. Wang and Chein-Chi Chang 10-5 m, and suspended particulates range below 10-* m in diameter. The objective of suspended particulate control is the protection from adverse health effects, taking into ‘consideration its synergistic effects. 3. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas, produced by the incomplete combustion of ‘carbonaceous material, having an effect that is predominantly one that causes asphyxia. 4. Niuogen dionide is a vedkdish-ovange-browa gas with a characteristic pungent odor, The partial pressure of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere restricts it to the gas phase at usual atmospheric temperatures. It is corrosive and highly oxidizing and may be physiologically invtating. ‘The presence of the gas in ambient air has been associated with a variety of res- piratory diseases. Nitrogen dioxide gas is essential for the production of photochemical smog. At higher concentrations, its presence has been implicated in the corrosion of elec- trical components, as well as vegetation damage. 3. Sulfur dioxide is @ nonflanumable, nonexplsive, colorless ga that hay a pungent, irtating ‘odor. It has been associated with an increase in chronic respiratory disease on long-term ‘exposure and alteration in lung and other physiological functions on short-term exposure. ‘6. Hydrocarbons are organic compounds corsisting only of hydrogen and carbon. Howev for the purpose of air quality central, hyéacarhns (aanmethane) hall mfer tthe total airborne hydrocarbons of gaseous hydrocarbons as a group that have not been associated with health effects. Ithas been demonstrated that ambient levels of photochemical oxidant, which do have adverse effects on health, are associated withthe occurence of concentrations ‘of nonmethane hydrocarbons. In 1990, the US Congress passed an amendment to the Clean Air Act of 1970. Under its requirements, the US EPA is to revise national-health-based standards—National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) as shown in Table 1 (2)—and set the Significant Harm Levels (SIILs). The Standards, which control pollutants harmful to” people and the environment, were established for six criteria pollutants. These criteria pollutants are ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxides, sulfur dioxide, heavy metals (especially lead), and various hazardous air pollutants (HAPS). Descriptions for additional pollutants are described as follows. Ozone (O,) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms. It is not usually emitted irectly into the air, but at ground level it is ereated by a chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NO,) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of heat and sunlight. Ozone has the same chemical structure whether it occurs miles above the Earth or at ground level and can be “good” or “bad,” depending on its location in the atmosphere. “Good” ozone occurs naturally in the stratosphere approx 10-30 miles above the Earth's surface and forms a layer that protects life on Earth from the sun’s harmful rays. In the Earth's lower atmosphere, ground-level ozone is considered “bad.” VOC +NO, + Heat + Sunlight = Motor vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NO, and VOCS that contribute to the formation of ozone. Sunlight and hot weather cause ground-level ozone to form in harmful concen- trations in the ait. As a result, it is known as a summer air pollutant. Many urban areas; tend to have high levels of bad ozone, but even rural areas are also subjected to increased ozone levels because wind carries ozone and pollutants that form it hundreds of miles away from their original sources. Lead is a metal found naturally in the environment as well as in manufactured products. The major sources of lead emissions have historically been motor vehicles one