Uploaded February 2013 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
Before the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970, the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) had a lead role in air pollution efforts. The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was the first federal legislation involving air pollution. This Act provided funds for federal research in air pollution. The Clean Air Act of 1963 was the first federal legislation regarding air pollution control. It established a federal program within the U.S. Public Health Service and authorized research into techniques for monitoring and controlling air pollution. In 1967, the Air Quality Act was enacted in order to expand federal government activities. In accordance with this law, enforcement proceedings were initiated in areas subject to interstate air pollution transport. As part of these proceedings, the federal government for the first time conducted extensive ambient monitoring studies and stationary source inspections. The current legal authority for federal programs regarding air pollution control is based on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. These are the latest in a series of amendments made to the Clean Air Act . This legislation modified and extended federal legal authority provided by the earlier Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1970. This is clipped from the 1967 HEW film, Don't Leave It All To The Experts , designed to educate the public about the Air Quality Act and the role of citizens in the public hearings and decision making . The theme of this film appears a few years later in the 1972 EPA publication, Don't Leave It All To The Experts: The citizens role in environmental decision making, available at enviro-lawyer.com/Experts.pdf . The film is from the National Medical Audiovisual Center (NMAC), a part of the Agency that became the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The NMAC produced motion pictures, television programs, and other audiovisuals for government agencies including National Center for Air Pollution and National Center for Urban and Industrial Health, which used them for education and dissemination of information. For more on the NMAC, go to
nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/miles/miles_24.pdf.
Before the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970, the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) had a lead role in air pollution efforts. The Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 was the first federal legislation involving air pollution. This Act provided funds for federal research in air pollution. The Clean Air Act of 1963 was the first federal legislation regarding air pollution control. It established a federal program within the U.S. Public Health Service and authorized research into techniques for monitoring and controlling air pollution. In 1967, the Air Quality Act was enacted in order to expand federal government activities. In accordance with this law, enforcement proceedings were initiated in areas subject to interstate air pollution transport. As part of these proceedings, the federal government for the first time conducted extensive ambient monitoring studies and stationary source inspections. The current legal authority for federal programs regarding air pollution control is based on the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. These are the latest in a series of amendments made to the Clean Air Act . This legislation modified and extended federal legal authority provided by the earlier Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1970. This is clipped from the 1967 HEW film, Don't Leave It All To The Experts , designed to educate the public about the Air Quality Act and the role of citizens in the public hearings and decision making . The theme of this film appears a few years later in the 1972 EPA publication, Don't Leave It All To The Experts: The citizens role in environmental decision making, available at enviro-lawyer.com/Experts.pdf . The film is from the National Medical Audiovisual Center (NMAC), a part of the Agency that became the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The NMAC produced motion pictures, television programs, and other audiovisuals for government agencies including National Center for Air Pollution and National Center for Urban and Industrial Health, which used them for education and dissemination of information. For more on the NMAC, go to
nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/miles/miles_24.pdf.
