Southern California has long struggled to meet federal air pollution standards. Now, the EPA wants to impose even higher requirements for particulate.
Declaring that current standards are no longer sufficient to protect public health, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed strengthening federal rules for one of the world’s most dangerous and pervasive types of air pollution — fine particulate matter.
The new rule would represent a 17%-25% reduction over the current national health standard enacted in 2013 and would limit PM2.5 to 9 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The current standard is 12 micrograms. Nowhere in the nation are the health concerns from this form of pollution more acute than California — a state crosshatched with heavily trafficked highways, dotted withDespite its legacy of spearheading groundbreaking air quality regulations, California remains home to four of the five national regions that still fail to comply with existing rules for fine particulate pollution: Greater Los Angeles, the San Joaquin Valley, Imperial County and Plumas County.
In Southern California, some of the highest concentrations of particulate pollution occur near highways, which often cut through communities largely comprised of lower-income communities where residents may have limited access to medical care.Southern California air regulators have released a sweeping plan to help reduce smog pollution, but it will fall short of federal requirements.
The researchers also found that fine particles from wear and tear on vehicle tires and brakes appear to be a significant and growing source of particulate pollution, as evidenced by the increasing concentration of copper and iron. The California Air Resources Board, which funded the UCLA study, estimates brake and tire emissions have already eclipsed vehicle exhaust in the Los Angeles area in recent years.
This committee also suggested the agency lower the 24-hour standard for fine particulate to somewhere between 25 and 30 micrograms, from its current 35 threshold. The EPA recommended that benchmark remain the same.
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