Citizens Groups Submit Comments on Revised Particulate Matter Standards

On August 31, 2012 Clean Air Council and a coalition of citizen groups, including the American Lung Association, Clean Air Task Force, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club, submitted comments urging the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose tougher standards for the levels of particulate matter (PM) in the air. PM is a harmful air pollutant that has been shown to lead to hospitalizations and death, particularly for vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and people with asthma. EPA is in the process of revising its PM standards, and although it has proposed to tighten them somewhat, its proposal does not go as far as the latest studies indicate is necessary to protect human health. Indeed, a policy assessment prepared by EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards recommended tighter standards, a recommendation EPA ultimately disregarded when it released its proposal.

See the attached file for the citizen groups' full set of comments.