How the EPA can Save lives by cleaning up fine particle air pollution

The report recommends that the EPA strengthen PM2.5 standards to an annual limit of 11 µg/m3 and a daily limit of 25 µg/m3. According to the analysis, this standard would prevent up to 35,700 premature deaths annually and generate $281 billion in yearly economic benefits. The document highlights that current standards are insufficient and that vulnerable populations, including children and low-income individuals, are at higher risk from soot pollution.

• The report recommends that the EPA adopt a health standard consisting of an annual limit of 11 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) and a daily limit of 25 µg/m3, arguing that options currently under consideration by the agency are not strong enough to protect public health.
• Implementing the recommended standard of 11 µg/m3 (annual) and 25 µg/m3 (daily) could prevent as many as 35,700 premature deaths every year, which is more than 10 times the number of deaths prevented by the current standard of 15 µg/m3 (annual) and 35 µg/m3 (daily).
• The recommended PM2.5 health standard is estimated to provide economic benefits to the American public of $281 billion annually through the reduction of costs associated with disease and premature death.
• Beyond premature deaths, the recommended standard is predicted to prevent 2,350 heart attacks, 23,290 hospital and emergency room visits, 29,800 cases of acute bronchitis, 1.4 million cases of aggravated asthma, and 2.7 million days of missed work or school annually.
• Ten major metropolitan areas are identified as standing to benefit significantly from the recommended standard, with Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (4,230 deaths avoided) and New York-Newark-Edison, NY-NJ-PA (3,290 deaths avoided) seeing the highest reductions in premature deaths.

APA

mccubbin, D., & graham, J. (n.d.). How the EPA can Save lives by cleaning up fine particle air pollution. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093605/SickOfSoot.pdf

Chicago

mccubbin, donald, and john graham. How the EPA can Save lives by cleaning up fine particle air pollution. Clean Air Task Force, n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093605/SickOfSoot.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=mccubbin |first1=donald |last2=graham |first2=john |title=How the EPA can Save lives by cleaning up fine particle air pollution |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093605/SickOfSoot.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mccubbinndhow, author = {mccubbin, donald and graham, john}, title = {{How the EPA can Save lives by cleaning up fine particle air pollution}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093605/SickOfSoot.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }