EPA says eastern U.S. skies are cleanier

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The Environmental Protection Agency says the air in the eastern United States is significantly cleaner now than it was in 1990.

Smog forming emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants and industry in 19 eastern U.S. states and the District of Columbia are down seven percent from 2005, 60 percent from 2000 and 74 percent from 1990, the NOx Budget Trading Program annual said Thursday.

The report said reduction of nitrogen oxides, a precursor to smog, has helped reduce ground-level ozone concentrations an average of five to eight percent in the eastern United States in the last three years.

The largest reductions occurred in the mid-central region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, the report said.