New Particle Studies Bolster Case for Strenghtened Annual Standard
One of the most pressing issues facing EPA in the review of the air quality standards for particulate matter (PM) is the need to strengthen the annual average standard for fine particles.
Lowering the annual average standard could avert tens of thousands of premature deaths annually.
When EPA last reviewed the particulate matter standards in 2006, it failed to lower the annual average standards for fine particles and revoked the annual average standard for coarse particles, weakening the nation’s ability to protect public health. EPA staff scientists, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and the public health community had strongly urged lowering of the annual standard to protect public health.
Since the last review, more than two dozen new studies have been published documenting the effects of long-term exposures to PM on respiratory and cardiovascular health. As EPA embarks on its next review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter, the American Lung Association has prepared an annotated bibliography of some of the more salient research studies.
Attached is an annotated bibliography: Highlights of Recent Research on Particulate Air Pollution: Effects of Long-Term Exposure
