EPA Applauded for Move to Restore Science in Protecting Americans from Ozone 'Smog'
Posted on: Wednesday, 16 September 2009, 14:07 CDT
Agency's action to reexamine flawed standard adopted by Bush administration
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Environmental Defense Fund applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision to review the adequacy of the controversial ozone national air quality standard issued under the Bush administration in 2008. Today, EPA committed to issue a new proposal by December 21, 2009 and to complete its review by August 2010.
In March 2008, the Bush EPA established an ozone health standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb), at a level substantially less protective than unanimously recommended by EPA's panel of expert science advisors on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC). CASAC recommended the standard be set between 60-70 ppb. Further, in an unprecedented move, the Bush Administration's regulatory czar ordered EPA scientists to scrap a separate science-based ozone standard to protect crops, forests, and other plants hard hit by ground-level ozone.
"EPA's commitment to protect human health from dangerous smog is a breath of fresh air," said Cal Baier-Anderson, Ph.D., a toxicologist with Environmental Defense Fund. "For millions of kids, smog can make it difficult to attend school, to play outside and to breathe on polluted day."
The Clean Air Act requires that the EPA protect public health "with an adequate margin of safety" in establishing the nation's air quality standards. In 2001, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that EPA was required to establish these standards based exclusively on the protection of public health.
EPA estimates that the suite of innovative technologies, processes and products that have been developed to meet the nation's air quality standards and other Clean Air Act programs have not only delivered extraordinary results, but that the nation's pollution control industry has thrived, generating over $200 billion in revenues and supporting more than 3 million jobs. The monetary benefits to society have outweighed the costs by a factor of more than 40 to 1.
The EPA's notice to reconsider can be viewed at http://www.edf.org/documents/10412_EPA_Report_To_Court.pdf
About Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund is at the forefront of an innovation revolution, developing new solutions that protect the natural world while growing the economy. Founded in 1967 and representing more than 700,000 members, the group creates powerful economic incentives by working with market leaders and relying on rigorous science. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
Contact: Cal Baier-Anderson, (202) 572-3306-w, canderson@edf.org, or Dan Cronin, (202) 572-3354-w, dcronin@edf.org
SOURCE Environmental Defense Fund
Source: PR Newswire
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