EPA Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide

According to an article in the New York Times, "The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials.

The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power. It could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress and form a basis for the United States’ negotiating position at United Nations climate talks set for December in Copenhagen.

The environmental agency is under order from the Supreme Court to make a determination whether carbon dioxide is a pollutant that endangers public health and welfare, an order that the Bush administration essentially ignored despite near-unanimous belief among agency experts that research points inexorably to such a finding."

To read the whole article, click here. I'm not sure what this may mean for the average Safety Practicioner - especially those of us who must also deal with clean air regs - but you can be sure that it will have an impact. What happens when carbon dioxide becomes a pollutant? Will we be required to test for its presence and then what will be the required response? Anyway, we need to keep an eye on this new development.