¦
air
pollution
episodes
A CITIZEN HANDBOOK

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON D.C. 20460

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Foreword
air
pollution
episodes
"Air is our most vital resource,
and its pollution is our most serious
environmental problem . .. Pollution
can quite literally make breathing
hazardous to health."
President Richard M. Nixon, February 10, 1970

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The 1970 amendments to the Clean Air Act
accelerate a national campaign to bring air
pollution under control that began in 1963 when
the Act was originally conceived.
Under these amendments, the federal govern-
ment sets national air quality standards, and the
states, after holding public hearings, adopt plans
for achieving the standards by 1975.
We are confident that with public support this
federal-state systematic campaign to bring the
sources of air pollution under control will result
in considerable improvements in air quality in
every state in the union.
However, as we move forward over the next
several years toward air quality standards, we
must be prepared to cope with emergency situa-
tions—with air pollution "episodes".
An air pollution episode occurs when adverse
weather conditions—usually low winds and a
temperature inversion—permit abnormally high
concentrations of pollutants to build up in the
air.
The likelihood of air pollution episodes will
diminish as the campaign to achieve air quality
standards advances. But as long as episodes are
possible, we must have an emergency plan if we
are to insure that we protect the public health.
As part of this plan the Clean Air Act em-
powers the Environmental Protection Agency to
take emergency action when pollution reaches
levels that present what the Act calls "imminent
and substantial endangerment" to human health.
But the prime responsibility for making sure that
an air pollution episode does not occur rests
with the States and with local governments,
within the framework of the Clean Air Act.
This publication outlines the ingredients of
an effective emergency plan — the preventive
measures which control agencies can take to
minimize the danger of air pollution episodes.
Further, this publication describes what citizens
can do to support their agency's efforts, and to
make sure that in their own communities proper
episode control measures are carried out.
As President Nixon has said, "in the final
analysis, the foundation on which environmental
progress rests in our society is a responsible and
informed citizenry".
William D. Ruckelshaus
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency

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Disaster
On October 27, 1948, stagnant air, fog and
factory fumes combined to grip the small in-
dustrial town of Donora, Pennsylvania, in a
thick black smog. Before the air was cleared by
wind and rain some four days later, 20 people
were dead. More than 5,900 of the town's total
population of approximately 14,000 became sick.
Coughs, sore throats, hard breathing, irritated
eyes, nausea and vomiting were common. Heart
disease and bronchitis patients suffered greatly.
Many required emergency oxygen treatment.
The Donora disaster was the first recorded
air pollution episode in the United States. It
etched Donora's name in the annals of air pollu-
tion, along with London, which recorded its first
air pollution episode in 1873, with 650 deaths,
and the Meuse Valley in Belgium, where 60 to
80 people died and more than 6,000 were made
sick in five days of high air pollution levels in
1930.
Anatomy of an episode
What is an air pollution episode? Detailed
analysis of the evidence of past episodes
reveals these major characteristics:
•	Stagnant air produced by low wind
speed and temperature inversion.
•	As concentrations of smoke, sulfur
dioxide, particulates and other pollutants
increase, coughing, eye irritation and sick-
ness increase.
•	Deaths increase as pollutant levels
reach peaks.
•	Death and illness occur in all age
groups.
•	Excess deaths increase with increasing
age.
•	Deaths are generally caused by respira-
tory or heart problems.
•	The impacts on health are rapid and
are due to a combination of several pollut-
ants.
•	The episode lasts two to seven days.

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London has since experienced more episodes.
The worst was in 1952, when a five-day killer
smog took 4,000 lives and sickened uncounted
thousands more,
Germany, Japan and other industrialized na-
tions have also experienced air pollution episodes.
New York City has reported several air pollu-
tion episodes. One, in 1963, was blamed for
200-400 deaths.
Cities which have recorded air pollution epi-
sodes represent only the tip of the iceberg, how-
ever. Air pollution experts believe that many
episodes or borderline cases have gone unre-
ported in the past because monitoring equipment
was not available to record pollutant levels, be-
cause the number of people affected was not
large enough to attract public attention, or simply
because air pollution was not recognized as the
cause of increased discomfort or illness.
But in recent years public awareness and
understanding of air pollution have grown. At
the same time, our population has increased,
and the sources of air pollution have increased.
More people mean more factories, more power
plants, more automobiles, more trucks—more
fuel-burning, emission-producing processes.
Today, many areas, regardless of size, can
become air pollution episode statistics if the
forces of nature, in the form of unfavorable
weather conditions, conspire with pollutants
emitted into the air.
Among areas in the United States subject to
stagnant air conditions, which are conducive to
air pollution episodes, are Baltimore, Md.; Bir-
mingham, Ala.; Buffalo, N. Y,; Charleston,
W. Va.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago, 111.;
Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Houston, Texas;
Los Angeles, Calif.; Northern New Jersey; New
Orleans, La.; New York, N. Y.; Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh, Pa.; St. Louis, Mo.; and Wash-
ington, D. C.
And at times, wide areas of the country can
be simultaneously blanketed with a cover of
stagnant air. This occurred in 1962 and 1966 in
the eastern part of the nation.
What follows is an outline of a program which
can prevent serious air pollution episodes from
developing at times of stagnant air conditions.

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Preventing disaster
Under the Clean Air Act, each state is required
to adopt a plan—after holding a public hearing—
to implement, maintain and enforce national air
quality standards set by EPA. The plan is sub-
ject to Federal approval.
The State implementation plan must include
emergency steps to prevent pollutants from reach-
ing levels at which "significant harm" to human
health might occur. Pollutant concentrations
which would cause significant harm to human
health have been identified by the Environmental
Protection Agency, based on the best available
scientific evidence. (See Table I)
The states may use different techniques to
prevent air pollution from ever reaching "signifi-
cant harm" levels during an episode. How this
goal is achieved is up to each state. However, a
state's air pollution episode contingency plan
must meet certain minimum requirements set by
the Federal government. The plan must:
•	Be backed up by a state law which empowers
the state to enforce it.
•	Establish two or more stages of action during
an episode.
•	Provide for public announcement when each
episode stage is reached.
•	Include specific actions to be taken immedi-
ately by major stationary sources and mobile
sources of air pollution to reduce or stop emissions
at each stage of an episode.
•	Provide for daily acquisition of forecasts of
air stagnation conditions.
•	Provide for rapid monitoring of air pollution
levels during episodes.
•	Provide for inspection of pollution sources
during an episode to assure compliance with
emission control orders.
•	Provide a communications system to alert
pollution sources, transmit emission control or-
ders, keep public officials, the news media, and
the public informed.
In practice, many states have delegated author-
ity for air pollution control to local governments.
Implementation of an air pollution episode con-
tingency plan is carried out by the appropriate
city, county or regional air pollution control
agency. However, States are still responsible to

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see to it that appropriate action is taken if an
episode develops.
To carry out the Federal government's air
pollution episode control responsibilities under
the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection
Agency has set up an Emergency Operations
Control Center at Durham, North Carolina. There
EPA maintains a continuous nationwide watch
of meteorological and air quality conditions. Air
quality reports flow into the control center each
day from a national network of Federal, state
and local air pollution monitoring stations.
Weather reports flow into the control center from
the National Weather Service's (NWS) nationwide
surveillance system.
If an "air stagnation advisory" is issued by the
NWS, or if air quality reports show an increase
in pollution levels, the control center puts EPA's
episode procedures into effect.
EPA analyzes actions taken by state and local
control authorities during potential and actual air
pollution episodes, steps up pollution monitoring,
provides advice and assistance—and, if necessary,
institutes direct Federal action, including seeking
court injunctions against polluters, to prevent
emergency pollution levels from developing.
That, in brief, is the framework of the nation's
program to prevent air pollution episodes.
A model for action
Air pollution episode contingency plans will
vary somewhat according to a community's partic-
ular air pollution problems and other factors. On
the east coast, for example, sulfur dioxide and
particulates are serious problems, while the great-
est problem in the Los Angeles area is oxidants.
An episode plan must therefore be tailored to
each community's own needs.
However, air pollution problems in most areas
have much in common, and it is possible to des-
cribe how a typical episode plan might evolve
and operate:
First, the state or local air pollution control
agency prepares a proposed air pollution episode
contingency plan as part of a total implementa-
tion plan to meet the national air quality stand-
ards. The proposed plan is made available to
interested organizations and individuals. The

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state then holds a public hearing, as required by
federal law, on the proposed plan. The hearing
gives public officials, industry and civic organiza-
tion representatives, and the general public an
opportunity to comment on the proposed plan and
to suggest changes.
The state then reviews the public hearing rec-
ord, considers recommended changes, adopts the
plan, submits it to EPA for review. If the plan
meets Federal requirements, EPA approves it.
(The plan may be more stringent than Federal
requirements if state-local authorities desire.) The
control agency then puts the episode contin-
gency plan into effect.
The plan
The prime objective of the air pollution episode
contingency plan is to assure that pollution levels
never reach the point of "significant harm" to
human health. This requires pre-planning for
action long before an episode develops:
•	Plans are made to receive daily weather
forecasts and to monitor pollution levels daily at
all times and more frequently if an episode occurs.
•	All factories and other stationary sources of
air pollution within the control agency's juris-
diction are identified. Information is obtained on
the types and amounts of hourly and daily emis-
sions of pollutants from each of these sources.
•	Emission reduction schedules are established
for each major source of pollutants for each stage
of an episode.
•	A communications system is created to
enable the control agency to immediately alert
public officials, sources of pollution, doctors,
hospitals, the press, and the general public if an
episode develops.
•	An education program may be initiated to
inform the public about the seriousness of air
pollution episodes, the control agency's program
for dealing with episodes, and precautions to be
taken should an episode occur.
•	And a multiple stage air pollution episode
procedure is established with appropriate pollu-
tion level criteria. EPA requires at least two
stages; suggested here is a four stage procedure:

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1. Air Pollution Forecast Stage.
The forecast is triggered when a weather report
indicates adverse meteorological conditions are
likely to produce stagnant air and elevated pollu-
tion levels. The control agency prepares for a
possible episode. It alerts its staff. It alerts pollu-
tion sources and the community through its com-
munications system.
2.	Air Pollution Alert Stage.
The alert is triggered if any one of the pollu-
tion level criteria for this stage (see Table 2) is
reached at any monitoring station, and if adverse
weather conditions are expected to continue for
12 hours or more.
Open burning is banned. Use of incinerators,
as well as boiler cleaning and soot blowing, are
confined to hours of maximum air movement,
usually 12 noon to 4 P.M.
Pollution sources—factories, power plants, etc.
—are directed to cut pollution in accord with
pre-arranged emission reduction schedules. Power
plants burning coal or oil are directed to make
substantial emission reductions by switching to
fuels with low ash and low sulfur content and
by bringing in some power from generating plants
outside the area, permitting a cut in local genera-
tion.
Inspections are made to assure compliance.
Action is taken against violators.
The public is notified, advised to take health
precautions, and asked to voluntarily reduce un-
necessary driving, and to cut back on the use of
electricity.
3.	Air Pollution Warning Stage.
The warning is triggered if any one of the
pollution levels for this stage (see Table 2) is
reached at any monitoring station and if poor
weather is expected to continue for 12 hours
or longer.
The ban on open burning continues. Use of
incinerators is prohibited. Boiler cleaning and
soot blowing remain limited to 12 noon to 4 P.M.
Pollution sources are ordered to make further
emission reductions in accord with prearranged
schedules. Power plants are directed to make

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maximum use of low ash,low sulfur fuels, and to
import maximum power supplies available from
outside the area to substitute for as much local
generation as possible.
Inspectors continue to check for compliance
and action is taken against violators.
The public is kept informed, advised again
about health precautions, and asked again to
voluntarily reduce driving and the use of elec-
tricity.
4. Air Pollution Emergency Stage.
An emergency is called if monitoring shows
air quality is continunig to grow worse and is
approaching levels of "imminent and substantial
endangerment" to health. The Emergency is trig-
gered if any one of the pollution levels for this
stage (see Table 2) is recorded at any monitor-
ing station and if adverse weather is expected
to continue for 12 hours or more.
All previously ordered emission restrictions
are continued. The public is told of the serious-
ness of the situation.
In addition, the use of motor vehicles is ban-
ned except in emergencies with the approval of
state or local police. Schools, libraries, local and
state government offices (except those needed for
public safety and welfare) are ordered to close.
Nonessential office, retail, wholesale and com-
mercial operations are directed to close. Manu-
facturing plants with prearranged emission re-
duction schedules are ordered to put maximum
pollution abatement procedures into effect and
to stop operations if possible.
Inspections continue and action is taken against
violators.
That's the outline of an air pollution episode
plan in action. If it is properly planned and
carried out, control actions taken in the early
stages of an episode will prevent pollution levels
from reaching the emergency stage.
But the community must be prepared for the
worst. The community must be prepared to
cooperate, to avoid panic, to accept inconven-
iences and restrictions on personal freedom, and
to forego personal gain.
The community must be prepared to accept
whatever social and economic costs are necessary
to keep pollution under control during an episode.

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What citizens can do
A concerned and aware public in any com-
munity can help assure that its episode plan
contains the ingredients for success and is imple-
mented when an episode develops.
In many communities, voluntary citizen organ-
izations have been created to work for clean air.
They articulate the public's desire for improved
air quality, contribute to public understanding of
air pollution problems, encourage and support
the control agency's pollution abatement pro-
grams, and conduct education campaigns on the
need for air pollution control measures.
These citizen groups often play a part in the
establishment and implementation of air pollu-
tion episode contingency plans. They do so by:
•	Reviewing a control agency's proposed epi-
sode plan.
•	Participating in the public hearing on the
plan and, if they deem it necessary, recommend-
ing improvements.
Telling the episode story
What should the public be told in event
of an air pollution episode? According
to the Metropolitan Washington Coalition
for Clean Air, a local citizen organization
operating in the District of Columbia and
nearby portions of Maryland and Virginia,
the public should be given at least this
information:
•	Stage reached, weather forecast, and
likely duration of episode conditions.
•	Highest pollutant concentration reached
so far.
•	Health warning and advice to sensitive
persons.
•	Recommended restrictions on personal
activities at each stage.
•	Mandatory restrictions at each stage.
•	Periodic reports of actions taken by
major polluters.

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•	Supplementing the control agency's public
education program on the need for the episode
plan and how it works, through their own publica-
tions, in talks before other groups, and by direct
contacts with the press. Citizen organizations
can be a major source of public information on
what the plan provides, what individual citizens
can do during an episode, and what special pre-
cautions should be taken by "sensitive" segments
of the population, such as the elderly and those
suffering from heart and respiratory disease.
•	Preparing the public for inconveniences and
restrictions on personal activities which might
accompany an episode.
•	Supporting and cooperating with the control
agency when an episode occurs. They arrange
What to do if heavy air pollution is
If there's danger of an air pollution epi-
sode, the following precautions are recom-
mended:
1.	Curtail physical activity, both indoors
and outdoors. (The more active you are,
the more breaths you take—and the more
pollutants you breathe in.)
2.	Stay indoors as much as possible and
keep windows closed. (Pollution levels are
usually lower indoors than out. And build-
ings themselves act as filters of sorts, block-
ing or absorbing some pollutants.)
3.	Avoid smoke filled rooms. If you are
a smoker, stop or cut down smoking.
4.	Don't use your fireplace.
5.	Don't use your incinerator.
6.	Don't drive if possible. If you must
travel, use a public transportation. If you
must drive, form car pools, avoid busy
streets and expressways. If you have a
choice, take a bridge instead of a tunnel. If
you must use a tunnel, keep car windows
and ventilator closed.
7.	If you're on the street and a bus or
truck emits a cloud of exhaust, hold your
breath.
8.	Do not wear contact lens.
9.	In the winter months, use a humidifier
or vaporizer to add moisture to your home.
(Moisture helps you breathe easier.)

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to be notified as soon as an episode is forecast.
They offer volunteers to help the control agency
man telephones to handle public inquiries. They
offer assistance in surveillance of pollution
sources after emission reductions are ordered.
They notify hospitals, nursing homes, convales-
cent homes—previously identified sensitive seg-
ments of the population—so they can take special
precautions.
• Analyzing the implementation of a plan
during an episode and making recommendations
for improvement if needed.
In sum, a citizen group organized to muster
public opinion in behalf of effective air pollution
control programs can be an invaluable com-
munity asset when an episode develops.
forecast
10.	Cut down on water use. (Electricity
is needed to pump water and sewage sys-
tems, and to run sewage treatment plants.)
11.	Cut down on use of electricity. Keep
nonessential lights off. Postpone running
washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, other
non-essential appliances.
12.	Lower room temperature in your
home if health considerations permit.
13.	Postpone indoor cleaning jobs that
circulate dust, such as sweeping, vacuuming.
14.	Postpone outdoor jobs that raise dust,
such as raking leaves, sweeping sidewalks,
excavating land, etc.
15.	Don't use the phone unless it's essen-
tial. (Telephone circuits can be overbur-
dened in emergencies.)
Special precautions
(For the elderly, chronically ill, heart
and lung patients, bronchitis, asthma, and
emphysema sufferers, post-operative pa-
tients, and newborn infants)
Stay indoors, keep windows closed, and
follow the other appropriate suggestions
listed above. In addition:
1.	If you have an air filtering system or
air conditioner, turn it on.
2.	If you're on medication, take it at
the first sign of worsening symptoms and
call your physician.

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The President's Council on Environ-
mental Quality observed in its second
annual report: "The ability of citizens and
citizen groups to make their views known
and to participate in government decision-
making on the environment is critically im-
portant. Often individuals and groups can
contribute data and insights beyond the ex-
pertise of the agency involved. . . . The new
openness to citizen involvement is bound to
check, stimulate, and test future Federal
agency activities. Citizen concern cannot
substitute for assumption of environmental
responsibilities by government and industry.
Nor can it provide the mechanism to resolve
the many policy issues involved. What it can
provide, however, is a highly potent quality
control and feedback."
Table 1
Air pollution levels that could cause
"significant harm" to the health
of persons *
Sulfur dioxide (S02)—1.0 parts per million (ppm),
24-hour average
or
Particulates—8 COHs, 24-hour average
or
Combined S02 and Particulates—Product of 24-
hour average of S02 and COHs of 1.5
or
Carbon Monoxide (CO)—
50 ppm, 8-hour average
75 ppm, 4-hour average
125 ppm, 1-hour average
or
Oxidants (Ox)—
0.4 ppm, 4-hour average
0.6 ppm, 2-hour average
0.7 ppm, 1-hour average
or
Nitrogen Oxides (N02)—
2.0 ppm, 1-hour average
0,5 ppm, 24-hour average
* Established by EPA October 19, 1971.

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Table 2
Suggested criteria for Air Pollution
Episodes
Alert Stage
An Air Pollution Alert goes into effect if:
S02 reaches 0.3 ppm, 24-hour average,
or
Particulates reach 3.0 COHs, 24-hour average,
or
Combined S02 and Particulates product reaches
0.2,
or
CO reaches 15 ppm, 8-hour average,
or
Ox reach 0.1 ppm, 1-hour average,
or
N02 reaches 0.6 ppm, 1-hour average and 1.15
ppm, 24-hour average
and
Meteorological conditions are such that pollutant
concentrations can be expected to remain at these
levels for 12 hours or more, or increase unless
control actions are taken.
Warning Stage
An Air Pollution Warning goes into effect if:
S02 reaches 0.6 ppm, 24-hour average,
or
Particulates reach 5.0 COHs, 24-hour average,
or
Combined S02 and Particulates product reaches
0.8,
or
CO reaches 30 ppm, 8-hour average,
or
Ox reach 0.4 ppm, 1-hour average,
or
N02 reaches 1.2 ppm, 1-hour average and 0.3
ppm, 24-hour average,
and
Meteorological conditions are such that pollutant
concentrations can be expected to remain at the
above levels for 12 hours or more, or increase
unless control actions are taken.
Emergency Stage
An Air Pollution Emergency goes into effect if:

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Table 2 cont'd
SO. reaches 0,8 ppm, 24-hour average,
or
Particulates reach 7.0 COHs, 24-hour average,
or
Combined S02 and Particulates product reaches
1.2,
or
CO reaches 40 ppm, 8-hour average,
or
Ox reach 0.6 ppm, 1-hour average,
or
NOl. reaches 1.6 ppm, 1-hour average and 0.4
ppm, 24-hour average,
and
Meteorological conditions are such that this con-
dition can be expected to continue for 12 hours
or more.
GPO : 1972 O - 4 52- 729
December 1971

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