Northeast States and California Weigh In for Stronger Standards, Oct. - Nov. 2003
Comments filed by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), representing eight states, and by the California Air Resources Board and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment strongly support strengthened air quality standards for particulate matter.
The California comments, submitted jointly by Catherine Witherspoon, Executive Officer of the Air Resources Board and Joan Denton, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, state: “Given the wealth of studies indicating health effects at the lower ends of the ranges, we believe adequate protection of public health necessitates a standard at or near the low end of the proposed ranges. We also concur that separate standards for fine and coarse particles are warranted, in light of the evidence for health effects from both size fractions.”
The NESCAUM comments submitted by Kennath A. Colburn, Executive Director, address four key areas: “1) the need for a protective primary annual PM2.5 standard; 2) the need for a protective daily PM2.5 standard that is a) consistent with the annual standard, b) will provide an adequate maragin of safety for populations, and c) will provide uniform Air Quality Index health messaging; 3) the need to pursue further research on subdaily health impacts of airborne particles toward the possibility of addressing this exposure timeframe in future regulations; and 4) the need to establish a secondary standard to address the considerable environmental deterioration caused by PM2.5.”
The detailed written comments which provide the rationale for the recommended standards are attached.
Attachments
- CARB Comments on First Draft PM Staff Paper, 10-28-03
- carb-comments-102803.pdf
Comments of California Air Resources Board on PM Staff Paper, 10-28-03
- NESCAUM Comments on First Draft PM Staff Paper, 11-5-03
- nescaumcomments11503.pdf
Comments of the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management on First Draft PM Staff Paper, 11-5-03
