Today the Environmental Protection Agency announced the new particulate matter (PM, sometimes thought of as soot) standards today.
They lowered the annual PM2.5 standard to 9, down from the current standard of 12. They left the daily standard for PM2.5, the standard for PM10, and the secondary standard unchanged.
We thank EPA and the administration for finalizing a much stronger PM2.5 standard that will save thousands of lives and cut air pollution so that we are all healthier and can breathe and thrive.
This new annual PM2.5 standard is a strong step forward to protect our health. It should also help with some health disparities and environmental injustice, since highways and polluting facilities are built far more often in black and brown neighborhoods. It will also really help children, whose brains and bodies are more vulnerable to air pollution than adults.
While we wish that EPA had also strengthened the daily PM2.5, PM10, and secondary standards, setting the PM2.5 annual standard at 9 will really help us all be healthier.
#HealthyAIrIsHealthCare #WeAllThriveWithHealthyAir
02/07/2024 AKMB
