The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is strengthening air quality standards on fine particulate matter, or soot, a pollutant that contributes to thousands of premature deaths and sickens many more each year.
In a statement, the EPA said that the best available science supported a change to the annual health-based national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 micrograms per cubic meter.
While that may appear to be a small difference, the potential health impacts are quite large. The EPA estimated the stricter standard will prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays due to illnesses associated with soot.
Health research shows that fine particles can penetrate deep in lung tissue, and exposure is linked to more severe asthma, heart and lung disease and increased infant mortality.
"This final air quality standard will save lives and make all people healthier, especially within America's most vulnerable and overburdened communities," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
Research shows particulate matter pollution hits economically marginalized communities and communities of color especially hard. Analysis by the research company Industrial Economics found that Black Americans over age 65 are three times more likely to die from exposure to soot than are older white Americans, and lower income communities are about 50 percent more likely to have air that exceeds the current health standard.
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to review the air standard every five years to ensure that it is sufficiently protective of health, but today's announcement marks the first change in more than 10 years. The Donald Trump administration declined to revise the previous standard established in 2012.
Fine particulate pollution can come from fossil fuel power plants, gas and diesel burning vehicles, and some manufacturing facilities and construction sites. Some industry trade groups oppose the EPA's new standard, arguing that the restrictions on emissions will require costly changes.
The National Association of Manufacturers took to the airwaves with a television ad last fall warning that tighter soot controls could "restrict growth and investment across America."
Environmental and public health advocates, however, said there is little evidence that air quality improvements harm economic growth.
"Those claims have been happening since the mid-90s and they've never materialized," Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund told Newsweek.
EPA data shows that since the Clean Air Act became law more than 50 years ago the nation's gross domestic product has increased more than 300 percent while the major air pollutants that directly harm public health have been cut by about 75 percent.
Zalzal said many of the actions that could address soot pollution, such as a move to cleaner vehicles, are also things that promise to generate economic activity.
"Solutions to invest in cleaner air are solutions that are dramatically accelerating job growth as well," he said.
The EPA said it expects most parts of the country to meet the healthier limit by 2032, likely the earliest year that states would need to comply with the revised standard.
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