What are Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP)?
Hazardous air pollutants, also known as toxic air pollutants or air toxics, are those pollutants that cause or may cause cancer or other serious health effects, such as reproductive effects or birth defects, or adverse environmental and ecological effects. USEPA is required to control 188 hazardous air pollutants. USEPA has developed, and continues to promulgate, standards to regulate the emission of these HAP. Examples of toxic air pollutants include benzene, which is found in gasoline; perchlorethlyene, which is emitted from some dry cleaning facilities; and methylene chloride, which is used as a solvent and paint stripper by a number of industries.
