“Across the country and in New York City, air quality has improved in recent decades, due to measures implemented to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clean air regulations. Emissions controls are now required for motor vehicles, factories and electric power plants, and products like motor fuels and paints have been reformulated to reduce emissions. In addition, state agencies, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), act to enforce emissions limits and to develop other measures to reduce pollution, such as promoting car pooling and encouraging the use of public transportation. These federal and state actions have produced significant improvements in air quality in most parts of the country and in New York City. Despite these efforts, routine air monitoring shows that the New York City metropolitan area still does not meet the clean air standards for two pollutants fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3). Figure 1 depicts trends for these pollutants at regulatory monitors located within the five boroughs. Scientific research indicates that these levels of air pollution are harmful to public health (U.S. EPA, 2004)”
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