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| Dear Friend, |
| Your public comments continue to make a difference. A year after it asked for input on its proposal, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5 today. The updated standards are a significant step in our ongoing efforts to fulfill the promise of the Clean Air Act. PM2.5 (also known as fine particulate matter or soot) causes 50,000 excess deaths in the United States every year. |
| Thank the EPA for listening to the public and strengthening its standards for PM2.5. |
| These stronger standards were not inevitable — it took several years of grassroots pressure and persistent litigation to get it right. When Trump’s EPA administrator issued a do-nothing rule that didn’t strengthen the safeguards for fine particulate matter, Earthjustice and partners sued to ensure that the EPA didn’t squander the opportunity. The Biden EPA proposed a range of options to strengthen the soot standards and you jumped into action – 32,000 Earthjustice supporters filed public comments calling for stronger standards, and that’s what we got. |
| PM2.5 lodges itself deep in our lungs and can move into our bloodstream, where it can cause asthma, cancer, heart attacks, reproductive and developmental harm, and even premature death. A powerful body of science shows that the current NAAQS allow levels of particulate matter that cause these harms. |
| Our successful advocacy will tangibly improve the lives of people across the country: |
- 4,500 lives saved annually;
- 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms avoided;
- 2000 emergency room visits avoided;
- 290,000 lost work days avoided;
- $78 in benefits for every dollar of costs.
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| There’s much more work to be done to ensure everyone has clean air to breathe, but today represents a meaningful step towards that goal. Join us in thanking the EPA for listening to the public. |
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Sincerely,
Raúl García
Vice President of Policy and Legislation |
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