In its never-ending battle against smog, the California Air Resource Board voted yesterday to require manufacturers of everything from hair mousse to air freshener to reduce the fumes emitted by their products. In its sixth sweeping set of pollution standards applied to household products over the past decade, the board cracked down on furniture cleaners, nail polish removers, engine degreasers, adhesives, and insecticides, among some 2,500 individual products. As pollution from vehicles and industries has declined, household items have become responsible for a growing portion of the state’s smog problem. Windshield wiper fluids, for example, emit more than 8 tons of smog-forming gases daily in California, almost as much as the Los Angeles area’s large oil refineries. The new rules are expected to eliminate 21 tons of smog-forming emissions daily, the equivalent of removing about 500,000 average cars from the road.
