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Environment

EPA Retains Limits On Carbon Monoxide

by Glenn Hess
February 7, 2011 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 89, Issue 6

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Credit: Shutterstock
Much of the CO in air comes from cars.
Credit: Shutterstock
Much of the CO in air comes from cars.

EPA is proposing to keep the current national air-quality standards for carbon monoxide, saying a review of the “best available science” indicates the existing regulations will protect people, including those susceptible to health problems associated with breathing CO from the outdoor air. CO can cause harmful health effects by reducing oxygen delivery to the body’s organs and tissues. It is released mainly from automobile tailpipes and from other equipment that uses combustion engines. After a court-ordered review of the standards, EPA determined that there was no reason to change the current limit on CO, which is 9 ppm averaged over an eight-hour period and 35 ppm over a one-hour period. EPA has been reviewing the CO standards since 2008, when a federal judge in San Francisco ordered the agency to decide whether a revision is necessary.

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