National Academy Of Sciences Panel Affirms EPA Benefits Analyses, September, 2002
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has confirmed that the U.S. EPA correctly used health studies involving long-term exposure to air pollution as the most reliable way to assess the benefits of reducing air pollution.
A report by the National Academy of Sciences finds that EPA has appropriately based their estimates of mortality on long-term cohort studies, “which give a more complete assessment because they include long-term, cumulative effects of air pollution.” In particular, the report concluded that EPA’s use of the American Cancer Society (ACS) study for the evaluation of PM-related premature mortality was reasonable, given the size and precision of the study.
The National Academy of Sciences study is interesting in part because it didn’t pan out as expected by the person who sought it — Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), who hoped the study could be used against U.S. EPA efforts to calculate the benefits of reducing pollution. The EPA has noted that reducing particle soot would prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths a year.
The NAS supported the use of epidemiological studies to help determine benefits. NAS did suggest some refinements: “For example, EPA should evaluate whether PM emissions from diesel-fuel vehicles have a greater impact on human exposure than those from stationary sources, because diesel exhaust is emitted closer to people.” On balance, however, the NAS study underscores that long-term exposure to particle soot leads to premature death.
The report, “Estimating the Public Health Benefits of Proposed Air Pollution Regulations,” was issued in September 2002. The National Academy Press [www.books.nap.edu] offers the report online.
