Brian Willis: 202.675.2386, Brian.Willis@sierraclub.org
San Francisco, CA - The American Lung Association (ALA) released its 2017 "State of the Air" report today, which found continued improvement in air quality due to enforcement of the Clean Air Act, but an increase in dangerous spikes in smog (ozone) and particle (soot) pollution that are putting many Americans’ health at risk.
The report found that 125 million Americans — nearly four in ten (38.9%) — lived in areas with dangerous levels of smog (also called ozone) or particle (soot) pollution between 2013 - 2015. Due to these high levels of pollution, communities that live in these areas are at a higher risk for serious health problems like lung cancer, asthma attacks, cardiovascular damage, developmental and reproductive harm, and even premature death. The root causes of these high levels of air pollution are fossil fuel facilities like coal plants and tailpipe emissions from cars.
Ironically, ALA’s “State of the Air” report was released during the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on the Clean Air Act, the EPA, and recent clean air rules that are responsible for the long-term improvement in America’s air quality and safeguarding millions of families from the worst impacts of fossil fuel pollution. In just the past week, Trump’s EPA Administrator began taking initial steps to rollback the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and the Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction (SSM) rule, which are common sense safeguards against dangerous mercury pollution and loopholes that let fossil fuel facilities spew unlimited amounts of pollution onto low-income communities and communities of color.
Trumps attacks on these vital clean air protections like these will only have a negative impact on the air quality improvements found in today’s report, putting the health of those communities already at risk into greater danger due to the likely increases in air pollution should Trump lift safeguards against fossil fuel pollution.
In response to the report, Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“This report makes it clear that the Trump Administration’s relentless attacks on clean air safeguards will only make a bad situation worse for too many families across the country. Too many American cities already have unsafe air, and the health of our most vulnerable citizens is being ignored by Trump’s efforts to cut protections designed to specifically help them.
“The Clean Air Act works when we follow the science and put the health of our families before polluter profits, and the ‘State of the Air’ report bears that out. We’ve seen progress in improving air quality in the last 8 years that Trump now wants to reverse, putting the health of our communities on the line just to boost polluter profits.
“It’s outrageous that doctors, medical scientists, and policy researchers are being ignored by Trump and his polluter allies when they are providing clear evidence that people’s lives are in danger and more must be done to protect them. It’s shameful that he prioritizes the bottom line of a coal plant over a child struggling to breathe, but that’s also the reason why we’ll do everything we can in the courts, states houses, and the streets to stand up for our communities’ right to clean air.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters nationwide. In addition to creating opportunities for people of all ages, levels and locations to have meaningful outdoor experiences, the Sierra Club works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation. For more information, visit http://www.sierraclub.org.