Statement of American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, 4-6-05
Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, Chief Scientific Officer of the American Heart Association (AHA) presented testimony before the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee on EPA’s second draft Staff Paper on PM on behalf of AHA and the American Stroke Association (ASA) supporting more stringent National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5.
Dr. Robertson cited evidence of adverse long- and short-term effects of air pollution on cardiovascular disease.
“In an analysis of the American Cancer Society cohort published in 2004, a robust association between long-term PM2.5 concentrations and overall cardiovascular mortality was reported. The largest increase in risk was for ischemic heart disease, and the risk for arrhythmia, heart failure, and cardiac arrest mortality were also elevated. This evidence indicates that a more stringent annual average PM2.5 standard is needed, as proposed in the draft Staff Paper,” stated Dr. Robertson.
“Dozens of studies have reported that short-term elevations in ambient particle levels are capable of evoking cardiac arrhythmias, worsening heart failure, and triggering acute atherosclerotic/ischemic cardiovascular complications. Short-term exposure to elevated PM appears to significantly contribute to increased acute cardiovascular mortality, particularly in certain at-risk subsets of the population. Hospital admissions for several cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases acutely increase in response to higher ambient PM concentrations. These studies support tightening the 24-hour PM2.5 standard, as recommended by EPA Staff Scientists,” she added.
Specifically, the AHA and ASA supported lowering of both the 24-hour and the annual average standards, and concluded that the ranges suggested in the second draft Staff Paper — between 12-14 µg/m3 for the annual standard, and between 25-35 µg/m3 for the 24-hour standard — are well supported by the science. The AHA and ASA also supported strengthening the form of the standards and, favored the EPA recommendation to allow use of continuous monitors to measure attainment of the standard in addition to current filter-based monitors.
A copy of the statement is attached.
Attachments
- American Heart Association Statement on 2nd Draft PM Staff Paper
- american-heart-association.pdf
Statement of Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, 4-6-05
