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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced the availability of the results of the most recent National Air Toxics Assessment (“NATA”).

The NATA is the federal agency’s ongoing review of air toxics in the United States.

The NATA was developed as a screening tool for state, local and travel air agencies. The results are stated to help such agencies identify which pollutants, emission sources and places may need to be studied further to better determine possible risks to public health from air toxics.

The EPA states that the 2014 NATA provides:

. . . a snapshot of outdoor air quality with respect to emissions of air toxics. It suggests the long-term risk to human health of air toxics, emission or study over time. NATA estimates the cancer for breathing air toxics over many years. It also estimates non-cancer health effect for some pollutants, including diesel particulate matter (PM). NATA calculates these air toxic concentrations and risks at the census-tract level. It only includes outdoor sources of pollutants.

The 2014 NATA is stated to have used the 2014 National Emissions Inventory. The 2014 NATA included Model Ambient Concentrations, Exposures and Risks.

Extensive tables can be accessed which contain data at national, state, county and census-tract levels for each risk or hazard quotient endpoint. Total risks and hazards are broken out by contribution for each NATA source type.

A link to the 2014 NATA can be found below.