The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are air pollution standards issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The standards, authorized by the Clean Air Act, are for pollutants not covered by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that may cause an increase in fatalities or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness.^[1]

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The standards for a particular source category require the maximum degree of emission reduction that the EPA determines to be achievable, which is known as the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards.^[2] These standards are authorized by Section 112 of the 1970 Clean Air Act and the regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).^[3]

Most air toxics originate from human-made sources, including mobile sources (e.g., cars, trucks, buses) and stationary sources (e.g., factories, oil refineries, power plants), as well as indoor sources (e.g., building materials and activities such as cleaning). There are two types of stationary sources that generate routine emissions of air toxics:

1. Major sources are defined as sources that emit 10 or more tons per year of any of the listed toxic air pollutants, or 25 or more tons per year of a mixture of air toxics. These sources may release air toxics from fugitive emissions (equipment leaks), when materials are transferred from one location to another, or during discharge through emission stacks or vents.
2. Area sources consist of smaller facilities that release lesser quantities of toxic pollutants into the air. Area sources are defined as sources that do not emit more than 10 tons per year of a single air toxic or more than 25 tons per year of a combination of air toxics. Although the emissions from individual area sources are often relatively small, collectively their emissions can be of concern, particularly where large numbers of sources are located in heavily populated areas.

EPA published its initial list of source categories in 1992.^[5] Subsequently the agency issued several revisions and updates to the list and the regulatory promulgation schedule. For each listed source category, EPA indicates whether the sources are considered to be major sources or area sources. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments direct EPA to set standards for all major sources of air toxics, and for some area sources that are of particular concern. EPA is required to review all source category regulations every eight years.^[6]

• Air pollution in the United States
• Mercury and Air Toxics Standards