Brian Willis: Brian.Willis@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sierra Club members and supporters overwhelmed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) on its first day of “virtual” hearings on the Trump Administration’s insufficient national soot standard proposal today, demanding stronger protections against deadly particulate matter. Former coal lobbyist, turned EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, ignored the recommendations of EPA scientists and public health experts, who recommended lowering the legal limit for soot. Wheeler, instead, decided to retain a less protective 2012 standard
“We are in Bizarro World. We have a coal lobbyist, turned EPA Administrator who has again decided that our country’s most vulnerable people don’t deserve to have their lungs protected, even during a pandemic caused by a disease that attacks the lungs,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Director of Campaigns at the Sierra Club. “Soot is arguably the most dangerous air pollutant, which can cause strokes in seniors, impair development in children, and instigate premature death for people with preexisting conditions.”
Based on a Harvard University study published last month, particulate pollution (soot, dust, smoke and other air toxics) is linked to higher death rates from COVID-19 and comes from sources such as coal plants and vehicle tailpipe emissions. This is the first nationwide analysis directly correlating the coronavirus and other diseases to long-term exposure to air pollution from fine particulate matter.
“Wheeler’s proposal to again bow to polluters infuriated many communities across our country, which is why the EPA had an historic number of Americans demanding to testify for strengthening the soot standards,” said Hitt. “Demands for testimony were so high, that EPA had to add three more days of hearings to accommodate all of the requests to testify. Wheeler’s proposal is so controversial that the hashtag #particlepollutionkills has exploded in popularity. Soot is dangerous and kills people, and it’s time for Wheeler to listen.”
The current annual soot standard, which was set in 2012, is 12 micrograms per cubic meter and results in over 52,000 premature deaths a year. EPA’s own scientists estimate that an annual standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter, or 25 percent stronger than the current limit, could prevent 12,500 premature deaths annually. An even stronger annual standard of 8 micrograms per cubic meter would save even more lives. But Wheeler ignored the recommendations from his own scientists, choosing instead to keep the EPA’s annual standard in place allowing coal plants and other polluting facilities to foul our air at the current unsafe level.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.