ABSTRACT
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1970, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs) were to be promulgated to protect public health and welfare. The former were to be primary standards, and the latter secondary. Public health protection has had the highest priority, whereas public welfare is less well dened. Welfare effects are air pollution effects not related to human health. Although it has always been clear what some welfare effects are (e.g., damage to crops, plants, and materials; malodors), others have evolved over time. In the latter case, these include visibility concerns, atmospheric deposition, possible ecosystem changes associated with stratospheric ozone (O3) depletion, and global warming.
