The nation has made major progress in cleaning up air pollution from power plants, vehicles, factories and other sources, but there’s still a lot of work to do before the air is truly healthy to breathe across the country. Under the Clean Air Act, there are national limits in place on many outdoor air pollutants, including particle pollution and ozone, called the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Those limits are supposed to be set based on what the science says is needed to protect health. They need to be updated, implemented and enforced.
In recent years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthened the national standards for particle pollution (also called soot). Our own poll shows that 78% of voters support the stricter standards for particle pollution. But now, EPA has delayed enforcing them, and has taken other steps to weaken pollution cleanup for these and other standards.
We’re pushing EPA to strengthen and fully enforce these standards.
Additional Information
- Learn more about the health impacts of air pollution and find out the quality of the air you’re breathing, in our "State of the Air" report.
Page last updated: November 4, 2026
