Overview: Pollutants and Programs
Mobile Source Air Toxics - Health Effects and Risk
- Basic Information
- Health Effects & Risk
- Emissions
- Monitoring & Exposure
- Regulations
- Related EPA Programs
NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.
Motor vehicle emissions contribute to ambient levels of air toxics known or suspected as human or animal carcinogens, or that have noncancer health effects. Noncancer health effects can result from exposures to air toxics, and include neurological, cardiovascular, liver, kidney, and respiratory effects as well as effects on the immune and reproductive systems.
- Air Toxics Website: EPA maintains a valuable online resource center for information regarding toxic air pollutants, health effects, technical reports, assessment data, regulations, and air quality programs.
- National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) is EPA's ongoing comprehensive evaluation of air toxics in the U.S.
- EPA developed the NATA as a state-of-the-science screening tool for State/Local/Tribal Agencies to prioritize pollutants, emission sources and locations of interest for further study in order to gain a better understanding of risks. NATA provides estimates of the risk of cancer and other serious health effects from breathing (inhaling) air toxics in order to inform both national and more localized efforts to identify and prioritize air toxics, emission source types and locations which are of greatest potential concern in terms of contributing to population risk.
- The 2005 NATA includes estimates of cancer and non-cancer health effects based on chronic exposure from outdoor sources, including assessments of non-cancer health effects for Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM).
- To learn more about the health effects of diesel exhaust, see the following information:
- Health Assessment Document for Diesel Exhaust includes the final health assessment document that examines information regarding the possible health hazards associated with exposure to diesel engine exhaust.
- Fact Sheet: Diesel Exhaust in the United States (PDF) (4 pp, 412K, EPA420-F-03-022, June 2003) with overview of diesel exhaust health effects and options for reducing pollution from diesel vehicles.
- The following pages in particular describe the hazards posed by air toxics:
- Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) features a database of human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances found in the environment.
- About Air Toxics, Health, and Ecological Effects provides a wealth of information on health and ecological effects of air toxic pollutants.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- ATSDR Toxic Frequently Asked Questions is a series of summaries about hazardous substances.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program Report on Carcinogens
- California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
- World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
- Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program (TEHIP) is a comprehensive toxicology and environmental health web site that includes access to resources produced by TEHIP and by other government agencies and organizations.
- Health Effects Institute is an independent, nonprofit corporation chartered in 1980 to provide high-quality, impartial, and relevant science on the health effects of pollutants from motor vehicles and from other sources in the environment.