In response to a request from the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Assistant Administrators for the Offices of Air and Radiation and Research and Development formed this intra-agency workgroup to conduct a "top-to-bottom" review of the process used by the Agency to periodically review and, as appropriate, revise the air quality criteria and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) as required by the Clean Air Act (CAA). This NAAQS review process has evolved since it was instituted in 1970, with many of the current features having been in place for over 20 years. The present review is aimed at examining whether and, if so, how the process can be further strengthened, and at identifying ways of streamlining the process so that EPA can achieve more timely NAAQS reviews. We have concluded that the process can be strengthened and have identified specific recommendations as summarized below.

应美国环境保护署副署长要求，空气与辐射研究与发展办公室署长助理成立了本工作组，以对美国环境保护署按照《清洁空气法》的要求所采用的空气质量标准及国家环境空气质量标准定期评审及修订（如适当）流程进行“自上而下”的评审。自1970年制定之后，国家环境空气质量标准评审流程已经逐步形成，并且呈现许多当前特征业已存在了20多年。目前所开展的评审工作旨在审视是否及如何进一步加强该流程，以及识别精简流程的方法以使环境保护署可及时开展更多的国家环境空气质量标准评审工作。我们认为可加强该流程，并且已识别了以下概要说明的具体建议：

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Past reviews of the process have addressed a number of issues, including the difficulty EPA has had historically in completing NAAQS reviews at 5-year intervals as required by the CAA, resulting in litigation-driven review schedules; the statutory role of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) in providing scientific and policy-relevant advice to the Administrator; concerns about the "encyclopedic" nature of EPA's science assessment documents (referred to as “Criteria Documents”) and support for a more integrative synthesis of the science; and general support for the introduction and subsequent evolution of a policy oriented “Staff Paper” to help bridge the gap between the science presented in the Criteria Document and the policy judgments required of the Administrator in reaching decisions on the NAAQS. While many improvements have come about as a result of these past reviews, some of the same issues remain relevant today, and are addressed again in this process review.

以往的流程评审工作已经解决了多种问题，包括以往环境保护署在按照《清洁空气法》的要求每5年完成一次国家环境空气质量标准评审方面所遇到的困难，而且已经导致了由诉讼推动的评审计划；《清洁空气法》科学顾问委员会向署长提供相关科学及政策建议的法定职能涉及环境保护署科学评估文件（简称为“标准文件”）“百科全书”式的全面性，对进一步融合科学的支持，以及对导入及后续推进政策导向型“员工文件”的总体支持，以消除标准文件中所介绍的科学与在国家环境空气质量标准决策方面要求署长所作出的政策判断之间的差距。尽管由于以往所实施的评审工作已经作出了多项改进，但一些相同的问题目前仍然

具有相关性，并且在本评审流程中再次提及了这些问题。

 

 

 

Consistent with meeting the April 3, 2006 deadline for this report, we focused on the following key issues identified as being of most interest to the Deputy Administrator: timeliness of the NAAQS review process; consideration of the most recent available science; distinctions between science and policy judgments; and addressing uncertainties in scientific information. To help inform our review, we solicited input from a number of outside parties who have been actively engaged in the process over time, including all current and former CASAC members, who were asked to provide their individual views. While the time frame for this report precluded broad solicitation of public comments, we did engage in a limited set of consultations with representatives of various stakeholder groups, including representatives of industry groups, environmental and public health groups, States, and the chairs of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committees that have addressed NAAQS-related issues.

为符合本报告编制期限（即2006年4月3日）的要求，我们着重介绍了以下经确认对副署长最为重要的关键问题：国家环境空气质量标准评审流程的及时性，最近可获得的科学技术，科学及政策判断之间的区别，以及解决科学信息的不确定性。我们寻求从一些长期积极从事评审流程的外界人士（包括《清洁空气法》科学技术顾问委员会所有现任及前期委员）获得信息以为评审流程提供信息，并要求他们提出个人观点。尽管由于时间限制我们无法广泛地寻求公众意见，但我们还是设法同各个利益相关者组织的代表开展了有限的磋商，包括行业组织，环境及公共卫生组织及各州代表，以及已提及国家环境空气质量标准相关问题的国家科学院委员会主席。

 

 

 

For purposes of this review, we have focused on the basic functional elements of the

NAAQS process and on the nature of and linkages between the contents of documents that are currently prepared as part of the NAAQS review. These key functional elements include planning, science assessment, risk/exposure assessment, policy assessment, and rulemaking. Overlaid on these functional elements throughout the process are the involvement of CASAC in providing review and advice on the air quality criteria and the standards and numerous opportunities for public participation.

我们在流程评审中着重介绍了国家环境空气质量标准流程中的一些基本功能要素，以及目前国家环境空气质量标准评审中所编制的文件内容的性质及联系。这些关键性功能要素包括策划，科学评估，风险/暴露评估，政策评估及制度制定；在整个流程中，这些功能要素均涉及将《清洁空气法》科学技术顾问委员会纳入E-2计划以就空气质量标准进行评审及提出建议，并提供许多公众参与机会

 

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