Yesterday, EPA finalized its decision to retain the existing PM2.5 NAAQS of 12 ug/m3, rejecting substantial scientific evidence that PM2.5 causes significant harm at concentrations below 12 ug/m3. In fact, as noted in one of my prior posts on this subject, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that exposure to PM2.5 at concentrations below 12 ug/m3 causes more than 10,000 deaths annually. That hardly seems consistent with the Clean Air Act, which requires that NAAQS be set at the level requisite to protect public health “with an adequate margin of safety.”
As the Trump administration winds down, I think we can start the discussion of the single worst environmental decision made in the last four years. There’s a lot of competition, and I welcome reader submissions, but for my money, this may well be it.
I understand that there is discussion among the Biden transition team regarding how much to prioritize action to lower the PM2.5 NAAQS. At some level, it’s a heavy lift, because a lot of work goes in to revising a NAAQS. The administration may conclude that its climate efforts will address particulate matter as a co-benefit. That would certainly be true, but the NAAQS are important. To me, they are still the core of the CAA. That should be particularly true as a heightened focus on environmental justice emphasizes the link between environmental issues and public health. Many of those tens of thousands of excess deaths take place in EJ communities.
Retaining the existing PM2.5 NAAQS – worst environmental decision ever by the Trump administration. And that’s saying a lot.
