EPA Strengthens Standards for Soot Emissions

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Facts

  • The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new rule to set tougher standards for soot pollution on Wednesday to reduce overall emissions of 'fine particle matter' from smokestacks, tailpipes, and other industrial outputs.1
  • This comes as the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to review its air standard every five years to make sure it's up to date with present-day science, with the previous change to the air-quality standard taking place in 2012.2
  • The updated rule sets maximum levels of 9 micrograms per cubic meter for this form of air pollution, which is caused when fossil fuels are burned. This is down from the current level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter.3
  • The agency claims that the stronger air quality standard would bolster economic growth in the US and result in $46B in net health benefits in 2032 — preventing thousands of premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of lost workdays.4
  • Given that microscopic particles of soot — no bigger than 2.5 micrometers in diameter — can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, this pollutant is linked to a wide range of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.5
  • The EPA estimates that nearly all US counties will meet the new standards by 2032, but the US Chamber of Commerce forecasts that roughly 569 counties will fail to comply. The governors of Kan. and Ky. called on Pres. Joe Biden to block the rule and several business groups criticized it.6

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2Newsweek, 3Forbes, 4US EPA, 5E&E News by POLITICO and 6Wall Street Journal.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. This is a sad time for science and the American people. Pres. Biden is again deferring to the most extreme environmentalists in his administration and placing too much of the blame for air pollution on the US manufacturing industry. Production and job creation will be strangled by this new rule and investment will leave the US for other countries.
  • Left narrative, as provided by NBC. If anything, this rule doesn't go far enough to give the American people the maximum health benefit, but Biden is doing the best he can in the current political climate. This is a win for public health considering the known, and unknown, consequences associated with soot pollution. Industries have until 2032 to comply with the rule — the least it can do to reduce deaths and illnesses.

Predictions