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Organization: South Coast Air Quality Management District
Date: February 24, 2009
AQMD, States Win Victory Over Weak Soot Health Standard
PA Ordered to Reconsider PM2.5 Standard

    The South Coast Air Quality Management District along with 17 states and cities has won a major legal victory over lax Bush Administration standards for fine soot pollution that failed to protect public health.
    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday decided that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the George W. Bush Administration did not adequately consider scientific studies of the health effects of PM2.5, also known as fine particulate pollution or soot, when it failed to strengthen the health standard for the pollutant.
    The court ordered the EPA to reconsider its decision in light of studies, including one conducted in Southern California, which showed that children likely suffered lung problems when breathing air with PM2.5 levels below the current standard. (The current federal standard for PM2.5 is 15 micrograms per cubic meter on an annual average basis.)
    "This is a victory for all 16 million residents of Southern California who deserve to breathe clean air," said Barry Wallerstein, AQMD's executive officer. "We will continue to urge EPA to consult the best available science when it reconsiders the soot standard."
    In its decision on the case American Farm Bureau et al. v. EPA (Case No. 06-1410), the appeals court rejected industry challenges to the PM2.5 health standard.
    PM2.5 pollution comes from diesel vehicles, power plants and other sources, and the Los Angeles Basin suffers some of the highest levels in the nation. PM2.5 can lodge deep in the lungs and has been linked to numerous harmful health effects, including premature death, chronic respiratory illness, decreased lung function, cardiovascular disease and asthma. The California Air Resources Board estimates that PM2.5 pollution is responsible for 6,200 premature deaths each year in Southern California.
    Based on these impacts, AQMD as well as EPA's own scientists and scientific advisory committee recommended strict new standards for fine soot in 2005. However, the Bush Administration rejected their advice and chose a weaker, less protective standard. Today's decision clears the path for the Obama Administration to issue new, stronger standards.
    The states, cities and other state agencies also participating with AQMD in the challenge that led to today's victory are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia. The States of Arizona, Maryland and Massachusetts also joined as friends of the court.

    AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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