| March 11, 2008 |  |
EPA to Announce New Ozone Pollution Standard
Current Standard Not Enough to Protect Public Health
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under court order to announce new federal pollution standards for ozone by tomorrow. According to news reports, the agency is expected to lower the current 0.080 parts per million (ppm) standard to 0.075 ppm, a weaker, less-protective standard than what was recommended by the EPA's panel of independent experts - the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The scientists recommended the EPA tighten the ozone standard to between 0.060 and 0.070 ppm. A weaker standard will mean more Americans will suffer from the ill effects of air pollution.
"The EPA is mandated by the Clean Air Act to set pollution standards for ozone based solely on the best available scientific information," said Francesca Grifo, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Scientific Integrity Program. "An independent panel of experts concluded that the best available science shows the standard should be no more than 0.070 parts per million."
Ozone is a dangerous component of smog. It comes from industry and electric utility smokestacks, cars and trucks.
The EPA's own staff scientists have linked ozone to asthma and other breathing difficulties, chest pain, lung damage, increased susceptibility to respiratory illness, and heart- and lung-related deaths. According to EPA scientific documents, a 0.064 ppm standard would reduce ozone-related deaths by as much as 75 percent.
ADMINISTRATION STACKS THE DECK IN ISSUING NEW STANDARDS
Once the agency announces the final ozone standard, it is expected to introduce a new procedure for releasing National Ambient Air Quality Standards, which set the allowable level of key pollutants in the air. Ozone is one of those pollutants. The others are carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter and sulfur oxides.
The new scheme will further politicize the decision-making process. Under the current procedure, EPA staff scientists first produce an independent scientific paper before political appointees get involved. Under the new rules, high-level political appointees will work directly with staff scientists to draft a document containing policy-relevant science that reflects the agency's views.
"This new procedure is backwards," said Dr. Grifo. "The agency's views should be based on the science. The science shouldn't be twisted to accommodate a particular agency position."
Grifo also worries that the new procedure will eliminate the role of outside, independent scientists.
"This new process will throw out independent assessments by outside scientific experts," she said. "Advisory committees' only role will be to comment, just like any other member of the public, after the EPA announces its proposed standard."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
