Health issues in the Clean Air Act.

Major conclusions and recommendations of the National Commission on Air Quality on issues of health in the Clean Air Act are presented. The issues revolve mainly about the standard setting processes for ubiquitous pollutants, controlled through ambient air quality standards (Section 109), and for hazardous pollutants controlled through emission standards (Section 112). The conceptual difficulties inherent in the terms "adequate margin of safety" (Section 109) and "ample margin of safety" (Section 112) are discussed. The Clean Air Science Advisory Committee is widely viewed as having a salutary effect on standard setting. The need for maintaining strong research capabilities within the Environmental Protection Agency that are reasonably buffered against sudden disruptive events is emphasized. Mechanisms for achieving this goal through special congressional appropriations are considered.