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February 22, 2023
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Q&A: EPA’s particulate matter standards directly impact public health

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, is now seeking comments on its proposal to change its National Ambient Air Quality Standards for annual fine particulate matter from 12 µg/m3 to a level between 9 µg/m3 and 10 µg/m3.

Although this change could save between 1,700 and 4,200 lives, according to the EPA, the American Lung Association notes that a change to 8 µg/m3 would save 9,200 lives. The American Lung Association also advocates for lowering the EPA’s current 24-hour standard for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) of 35 µg/m3 to 25 µg/m3 to benefit public health.

Laura Kate Bender, national assistant vice president for healthy air at the American Lung Association

To find out more about fine particulate matter’s impact on asthma, Healio spoke with Laura Kate Bender, national assistant vice president for healthy air at the American Lung Association.

Healio: In terms of physiology, how does fine particulate matter affect people with asthma?

Bender: Particulate matter “enhances airway inflammation by interacting with the innate and adaptive immune system,” according to a review of effects of air pollutants on asthma outcomes by Tiotiu and colleagues. In other words, PM initiates the cascade of immune response that is asthma.

Healio: How many people are affected by fine particulate matter, as it pertains to asthma?

Bender: The American Lung Association’s 2022 State of the Air Report looks at particle pollution across the country, and we give letter grades to communities for their levels of particle pollution. There are two different measures of particle pollution: short-term spikes in particles, and year-round particle exposure. In communities with failing grades for short-term particle pollution, we estimate that there are 4.6 million adults and more than 1 million kids with asthma. In places that got failing grades for their year-round particle pollution exposure, we estimate that there are more than 1.4 million adults and 328,000 kids with asthma.

Healio: Are there any regions where the numbers are especially high?

Bender: We’ve released State of the Air reports for many years now. When we started releasing it, we saw high levels of particles in the East, in big industrial areas and in cities. But in last year’s report, we saw the burden of particles shifting to the West. We’re able to link that to wildfires that are made worse by climate change. There certainly are other factors for particulate matter exposure. But the fact that we’ve seen this shift westward in places that have unhealthy levels of particle pollution speaks to how we’ve successfully cleaned up, thanks to the Clean Air Act, a lot of the sources that used to make cities unhealthy in the East. But we have seen climate change driving activity that is making particle pollution levels higher in the western half of the country.

Healio: Are there any populations that are more susceptible to these risks than others?

Bender: Absolutely. Anyone’s health can be affected by particle pollution, but we often say that someone in every family is at increased risk. Of course, if you have asthma or other lung diseases such as COPD or lung cancer, you are at increased risk for health harm. Children, whose lungs are still developing, spend more time outdoors. They also breathe in more air per amount of body weight. People of low income and people of historically underrepresented groups tend to be disproportionately exposed to particle pollution, because they’re more likely to live near polluting sources like ports, shipping hubs filled with diesel trucks, power plants or other industrial facilities. Older adults are more susceptible as well, as are people with heart disease including congestive heart failure and high blood pressure, and other diseases.

Healio: The EPA is considering changes to its standards for fine particulate matter. Why is it important to inform the public about daily measurements against these standards?

Bender: These reports accurately inform the public about the quality of their air. As a person with asthma, if I’m looking at the local air quality when deciding whether to go for a run, I’m doing that based on the EPA’s Air Quality Index, which is based on these standards. If the standards don’t reflect what the science shows is necessary to adequately protect public health, particularly for people with underlying risk factors, then I might not be getting the full story about how the quality of the air might impact my health.

Healio: What is the next step for communities that want to meet these new standards and improve their air quality?

Bender: There’s a big menu of things that communities can do to successfully clean up the air. But before we get to implementation, EPA has to set the standards themselves. The law requires that EPA set the standards just based on science, not on how much it might cost to implement pollution controls. In the process of implementing the standards, communities can write a plan that best suits them, that’s feasible and that best reduces emissions.          

But generally, we are strong supporters of shifting to zero emissions, whether it’s zero-emission transportation or zero-emission electricity generation. Shifting to zero emissions not only reduces particulate matter, but other emissions at the same time, and it’s a huge opportunity to right inequities and exposure in communities that have been facing air pollution.

Healio: Does the American Lung Association offer any resources for people who want to take action to help communities impacted by air pollution or to improve air quality?

Bender: People can monitor their local air quality at airnow.gov and take steps to reduce their risk on days with unhealthy levels of air pollution. They can also reduce their own impacts by prioritizing walking, biking and public transit over taking gas-powered vehicles; conserving electricity; considering switching to zero-emission, electric vehicles and electric appliances such as stoves and water heaters when possible; and avoiding burning wood, leaves or trash.

Also, everyone can and should advocate for clean air at all levels of government. Meet with your city council representatives, state legislators and members of Congress to share your personal experiences with air pollution and urge them to enact policies to switch to clean, non-combustion vehicles and electricity. Participate in public comment periods when clean air rules are under consideration. You can get information about upcoming advocacy opportunities at lung.org/healthyair.    

Healio: Do you have anything else you would like to add?

Bender: If the EPA gets this right and finalizes these protective standards into law, it will save lives and ensure that communities that have been waiting for healthy air for far too long can finally see real cleanup. We will be very active throughout this comment period, calling for those levels, and we encourage physicians and others who support reducing particle pollution to join us in taking action through lung.org/stronger-standards.

References:

EPA proposes to strengthen air quality standards to protect the public from harmful effects of soot. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-strengthen-air-quality-standards-protect-public-harmful-effects-soot. Published Jan. 6, 2023. Accessed Feb. 16, 2023.

Public hearing notice proposal National Ambient Air Quality Standards. https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/public-hearing-notice-proposal-national-ambient-air-quality-standards. Published Feb. 21, 2023. Accessed Feb. 22, 2023.

State of the Air 2022. https://www.lung.org/getmedia/74b3d3d3-88d1-4335-95d8-c4e47d0282c1/SOTA-2022. Published April 21, 2022. Accessed Feb. 16, 2023.

Tiotiu AI, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;doi:10.3390/ijerph17176212.

For more information:

Laura Kate Bender can be reached at laura.bender@lung.org.