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California Air Quality Article
California Air Quality Needs Additional Protection
from:The Bush administration was told by the Environmental Protection Agency that California should be allowed to set tougher laws to protect the California air quality than those set by the federal government. President Bush did not agree with this statement. His belief is that there should be one equal national standard.
Senator Barbara Boxer, democrat from California is investigating what she calls an effort by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to cover up the threat of global warming.
The committee was told by a “whistleblower” named Jason Burnett that Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the EPA visited the White House last year with a plan to grant California a waiver to toughen the California air quality laws. This waiver would allow California to set tougher California air quality protection standards for a period of years. Bush made it clear to the EPA administrator that he prefers one national standard. Johnson then denied California’s request for tougher California air quality laws.
Johnson has claimed that there is nothing unique to California to support the waiver for tougher California air quality laws and that his decision was made independently.
The administration has denied every request from Boxer for e-mails and other documents during her investigation. Boxer wants to take a vote from her committee to find out if they feel that she should subpoena the documents. She would need at least two republican members to attend for this vote to count.
Coordination of demonstrations, experiments, investigations, research, studies, and surveys relating to the control, causes, effects, extent and prevention of indoor pollution in California is the mission of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Program.
The IAQ is a multi-disciplinary program with expertise in organic and physical chemistry, biological aerosols, microbiology and mechanical engineering among other disciplines.
Program staff from the IAQ in California has carried out original research on miscellaneous indoor air quality issues. These issues include but are not limited to the measurement of formaldehyde and nitrogen oxide in mobile homes, radon concentrations in California residences and schools, identify asbestos in public buildings, survey accidental deaths due to CO, effectiveness of ultraviolet radiation and ventilation to control the airborne infections and other California air quality issues have been researched.
The chair to the Interagency Working Group on Indoor Air Quality in California is the IAQ section chief. There are also representatives from academic institutions, federal, state and local agencies on the Interagency Working Group on Indoor Air Quality.
Unfortunately, California has not been allowed to pass tougher laws on California air quality at this time.