at Air Toxics In addition to criteria air pollutants, the Clean
Air Agency increasingly is focusing efforts on reducing air
toxics. Air toxics are a group of over 400 pollutants known or
suspected to cause a number of health problems, including cancer
and birth defects, as well as damage to lungs, and immune and
nervous systems. In our region, air toxics come primarily from
particulate matter contained in diesel exhaust and smoke from
burning wood. While air toxics do not have federal ambient air
quality standards, our research indicates that they are present
in our air at levels that pose a health risk to residents.
That's why we integrate air toxics reductions into many of our
programs, such as our award-winning Diesel Solutions program,
and our efforts to curb wood smoke emissions. For more
information: Fact sheet on air toxics (PDF 0.1MB) An overview of
air toxics of greatest concern in our region, as well as actions
the Clean Air Agency is taking to reduce air toxics. 2010 Tacoma
and Seattle Area Air Tox