Special Report No. 02-04: Review of EPA Regulations and Guidance Related to VOC Emissions

The role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ozone formation was first identified in California over 40 years ago. Since that time, increasingly complex regulations to limit emissions of VOCs have been developed by EPA and state and local air pollution control agencies as part of their efforts to reduce ambient ozone concentrations to acceptable levels. As knowledge about the mechanisms of ozone formation evolved, EPA’s approach to defining, measuring, and regulating VOC emissions also evolved.