Criteria air contaminants

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Criteria air contaminants (CAC) are a group of air pollutants that cause smog, acid rain and other health hazards. CACs include emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), Lead (Pb), and ground-level ozone (O3). CACs are emitted from many souces in industry, mining, transportation, electricity generation and agriculture. In most cases they are the products of the combustion of fossil fuels or industrial processes. Canada includes Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), a catch-all term for a long list of substances, in their list of criteria pollutants. In the United States, VOCs are regulated, but not as criteria pollutants.

Criteria air contaminants were the first set of pollutants recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as needing standards on a national level.