Environmental Policy and Public Health

William N. Rom MD, MPH, is Sol and Judith Bergstein Professor of Medicine, Departments of Medicine (Pulmonary Disease) and Environmental Medicine and director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, director of the NYU Lung Cancer Biomarker Center, and director of the Chest Service and Environmental Lung Disease Laboratory at Bellevue Hospital Center. He recently was chair of the American Thoracic Society Environmental Health Policy Committee and on staff for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the first global warming debate in fall 2003.

• Figures and Table ix Foreword xvPreface xixThe Author xxiThe Contributors xxiiiChapter 1: The Clean Air Act and the National Environmental Policy Act 1The Clean Air Act 2National Ambient Air Quality Standards 7State Implementation Plans 9Hazardous Air Pollutants 11New Source Performance Standards 12Prevention of Significant Deterioration 12Clean Air Interstate Quality Rule 13The National Environmental Policy Act 13Chapter 2: Particulate Matter 17Characteristics and Deposition 18Health Effects 21Cardiovascular Disease and Particulate Matter 32Particulate Matter and Public Policy 37Chapter 3: Ozone 41Health Effects 42Nitrogen Oxides 54Chapter 4: Sulfur Dioxide and Acid Rain 63SO2 Health Effects 65Health Policy: National Ambient Air Quality Standards 69Acid Rain 69Environmental Effects of Acid Rain and Deposition 73Acid Rain and Environmental Policy 75Chapter 5: Environmental Tobacco Smoke 81The History of Smoking and Disease 82Tobacco Smoke and Disease 84Health Effects of Passive Smoking 89Lung Cancer Epidemiology 91Carcinogens in Cigarette Smoke 92Smoking Cessation 94Policy Controls on Tobacco and Cigarette Smoking 95Global Smoking Today 97Chapter 6: Children’s Environmental Health: Mercury and Lead 101Leonardo TrasandeThe Unique Vulnerability of Children 102Mercury as a Case Study 104Lead as a Case Study 106Outdoor Air Pollution as a Case Study 107The National Children’s Study 108Regulatory Policy and Children 109Chapter 7: The Role of Community Advocacy Groups in Environmental Protection: Example of September 11, 2001 113Catherine McVay Hughes, Kimberly Flynn, Craig Hall, Joan ReibmanThe Disaster 116Chapter 8: The Medical Response to an Environmental Disaster: Lessons from the World Trade Center Attacks 137Caralee Caplan-Shaw, Angeliki Kazeros, Sam Parsia, Joan ReibmanImmediate Response to Environmental Exposure 139Analysis of World Trade Center Dust 140Role of the Medical Community in Identifying Adverse Health Effects in Diverse Populations 143Local Residents, Workers, and Children 148WTC Environmental Health Center 151The WTC Health Registry 153Lessons Learned 155Chapter 9: Chlorofluorocarbons and the Development of the Ozone Hole 159Chlorofluorocarbons 160Ozone Layer 160Field Measurements of Atmospheric Trace Species 167Ozone Depletion and UV-B Radiation 170Policy and the Montreal Protocol 172Ozone Depletion and Climate Change 174Medihaler Impediments to Controlling Ozone Depletion 175Chapter 10: Global Warming Science and Consequences 179Global Warming Basic Science: Greenhouse Gases 181Environmental Consequences of Global Warming and Climate Change 186Human Health Effects 197Global Warming and the International Community 203Chapter 11: National Green Energy Plan 205Energy Efficiency 206Oil 208Natural Gas 216Coal 218Biofuels 223Nuclear 227Wind 230Geothermal Energy and Hydropower 232Biomass and Hut Lung 234Solar 236Chapter 12: Climate Change Policy Options 241International Efforts to Prevent Climate Change 244State, City, and Private Actions on Global Warming 247U.S. Judiciary Branch and Climate Change 250U.S. Executive Branch and Climate Change 252Congress: The Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 Through the Climate Security Acts of 2008 and 2009 254Economic Factors Surrounding Global Warming and Potential Solutions 260Prospects for Climate Change Legislation Going Forward 262Chapter 13: Environmental Policy and the Land: Wilderness Preservation 267William N. Rom, Kim EllimanThe History of Wilderness Protection 269The History of Wilderness Protection Evolving from New York State’s Leadership 275Debates over Wilderness 283Problems with Implementation of the Wilderness Act 287Executive Orders for Wilderness Protection 289Current Wilderness Legislation 292The Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program 294National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 294The Endangered Species Act 295Chapter 14: Environmental Policy and Advocacy Groups: The Wilderness Society: A Case Study 299William H. MeadowsFederal Public Lands and Wilderness 300Why Wilderness? 301Political Framework 302The Wilderness Society and Public Policy 304Wilderness Future 313Chapter 15: Alaska: America’s Wilderness Frontier: A Case Study 319Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 320Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act: National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Wilderness 321Oil Versus Wilderness on the ANWR 329Chapter 16: The Clean Water Act and Water Ecosystems 337The Clean Water Act 338Safe Drinking Water Act 344Water Ecosystems and Environmental and Public Health 348Chapter 17: Toxic Chemicals in the Environment: Government Regulations and Public Health 355Toxic Substances Control Act 356Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) 360Notes 369Index 407ii