The standards will tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ground-level ozone to 70 parts per billion, down from from 75 ppb, in order to protect public health. Depending on the severity of their ozone problem, areas would have until between 2020 and 2037 to meet the standards.
The Sept. 25 forecast was for "Very Unhealthy" air quality, possibly "Hazardous," so the ministry closed kindergartens and primary, secondary, and special education schools for the day.
"Discrepancies relate to vehicles with Type EA 189 engines, involving some eleven million vehicles worldwide. A noticeable deviation between bench test results and actual road use was established solely for this type of engine. Volkswagen is working intensely to eliminate these deviations through technical measures," the company's statement says.
"Our goal now is to ensure that the affected cars are brought into compliance, to dig more deeply into the extent and implications of Volkswagen's efforts to cheat on clean air rules, and to take appropriate further action," CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey said.
Those living within the nine square miles surrounding an airport are exposed to higher levels of airborne toxins.
The settlement resolves federal claims that the company violated the act by unlawfully modifying units at five coal-fired power plants in North Carolina.
"The key areas of focus for ISO 14064-1 will be accounting for indirect greenhouse gas emissions and the linkage between that and renewable energy, which is a very challenging area," said Tom Baumann, chair of the ISO TC 207/SC7 committee that undertook the revision.
With the EPA proposing to lower the primary ozone standard from 75 ppb to 70 or 65 ppb, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the NOAA have created a commentary on how the new standard could make research more difficult for air quality managers at both local and state levels.
Exposure to the pollution caused by such things as car exhaust and coal-fired power plants may be associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder, a University of Pittsburgh study has found.
Despite progress, Southern California's air remains home to some of the worst air in the United States, the American Lung Association said Tuesday in its annual State of the Air report.
A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formula for calculating the amount of pollutants released by flares at refineries and chemical plants nationwide shows that those emissions are four times higher than previously thought.
The use of clean fuels and updated pollution control measures in school buses that 25 million children ride every day could result in 14 million fewer absences from school a year, based on a study by the University of Michigan and the University of Washington.
China has revived a controversial concept to monitor pollution, a decade after its first attempt at calculating its "green GDP" suffered a swift death.
Doctors call for life-saving protections at federal EPA hearing in Arlington.
Two hundred fifty-nine state legislators from across the nation submitted a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency supporting the EPA’s efforts to reduce carbon dioxide pollution and urging the EPA to increase its renewable energy and efficiency goals.
A new report form the European Environment Agency (EEA) says air pollution is still the main environmental health hazard.
EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice announced Hyundai and Kia will pay a $100 million penalty and will pay about $50 million more on actions to prevent further violations.
As a way to help combat air pollution, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has awards 33 incentive grants for alternative fuel vehicles. Additional grants have also been awarded for innovative alternative fuel projects.
With a grant provided by the EPA, the New Mexico Department of Environmental Quality will be working to promote sustainability and pollution prevention on a state-wide basis.
Four public hearings took place at the end of July. By then, about 300,000 comments already had been submitted.