With the costs of meeting air quality standards among the highest of all federal regulations, I recommend that your administration take specific actions to focus more of the nation's efforts on meeting the standard on fine particulates, which is the pollutant that has the most severe effect on public health.

Correspondingly, you should reduce, through changes in regulation, the current emphasis on meeting the standard for ozone, which is less potent a pollutant, is too subject to the vagaries of weather, and will be reduced as an ancillary benefit to fine-particulate reductions and as vehicles get cleaner.

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Alan J. Krupnick analyzes the benefits, costs, and design of air pollution policies and also focuses on valuation of health and ecological improvements. He is former senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers. He is the author of Valuing Health Outcomes: Policy Choices and Technical Issues.
Chapter 13. A New Approach to Air Quality Management 
Chapter 17. Performance Standards for Food Safety

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