New Proposed Soot Standards are Not Enough
By Felicia Wang, March 13, 2023
Beyond the direct preventable death count from soot-related health complications, the failure of EPA soot regulations to align with scientific recommendations has other ramifications.
“While it is important to continue making progress, we are concerned that the proposed regulation [on soot pollution] would stifle manufacturing and industrial investment and exacerbate permitting challenges that continue to hamper the economy.” This comment was unsurprisingly made by Chad Whiteman, the vice president of environment and regulatory affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute, to oppose the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) update.
The “proposed regulation,” strengthens the EPA’s annual soot standard to 9-10 micrograms per cubic meter, which will save around 5,000 lives per year based on calculations by Industrial Economics, Inc. However, the updated soot pollution standard from January 27th still falls short of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee’s (CASAC) strictest recommendation of 8 micrograms per cubic meter. If the EPA followed these recommendations, studies estimate that the number of lives saved per year would increase to almost 20,000.
Soot, otherwise known as particle pollution or PM2.5, is especially dangerous due to its small diameter of <2.5 micrometers. Particles this small are easily inhalable and lodge themselves in our lungs and bloodstreams. As a result, soot has been linked to many health issues such as asthma, heart disease, Parkinson’s, dementia, and anxiety. Furthermore, one does not need to live in a highly polluted area to experience the health consequences; short-term exposure can lead to hospitalizations and emergency room visits for various pulmonary diseases and heart attacks. To protect the 63 million people annually who are exposed to short-term spikes in soot pollution, the NAAQS includes safety limits for 24-hour soot exposure as well. However, that number is currently 35 micrograms per cubic meter, contrary to the CASAC’s recommendation of 25-30 micrograms per cubic meter. Unfortunately, the EPA has failed to update the 24-hour soot pollution standards.
Beyond the direct preventable death count from soot-related health complications, the failure of EPA soot regulations to align with scientific recommendations has other ramifications. Specific types of soot, such as black carbon, contribute to climate change by trapping heat from the sun within Earth’s atmosphere; in fact, black carbon is second only to carbon dioxide itself in climate impact. Moreover, prolific wildfires have exponentially increased the amount of soot in the air, therefore, it is of the utmost importance to reduce soot pollution wherever we can, such as in power plants and car exhaust. Needless to say, the economic, political, and health-related consequences of rising sea levels and increased natural disasters from climate change are astronomic. Thus, the EPA must take greater action to reduce soot levels to combat the climate crisis.
Furthermore, the lack of sufficient soot regulations perpetuate environmental justice issues. Black Americans above the age of 65 are more than three times as likely to die from soot exposure than their white counterparts. This horrifying discrepancy is a result of decades of systemic environmental injustice. Black, Latine, and Asian Americans all experience disproportionately high amounts of soot pollution from cars. Freeways tend to cut through BIPOC neighborhoods, which also tend to be closer to oil and gas refineries and have a lower tree density. All of these factors result in a higher degree of soot exposure. Rural white Americans are also more likely to suffer from soot pollution directly from agriculture and coal plants. Despite the staggering inequalities, the EPA’s new regulations completely ignore the need to address how soot has harmed marginalized communities.
When framing a policy, business associations like the Chamber of Commerce tend to focus purely on short-term economic gains and costs. In the long run, the purely economic cost of 20,000 lives and systemic inequity stacks up, even without factoring in the costs of climate change. However, the lives lost and racial/geographic disparities are inherently valuable as well, and must be treated as such by regulations. The EPA is responsible for protecting people, and if they are to follow that mission, they must adhere to science-backed recommendations for setting safety limits on soot pollution, both for long-term and 24-hour exposure.
NOTE: Felicia Wang’s article was adapted into an op-ed by CTC teammate Samantha Grimes, and published in The Cap Times in Wisconsin. Congratulations!
Change The Chamber is a bipartisan coalition of over 100 student groups, including undergraduates, graduate students and recent graduates. Contact Change The Chamber at changeuschamber@gmail.com.