On February 21, 2023, EPN member John Bachmann, former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs at the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation delivered oral testimony during a hearing on the proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter (PM 2.5). EPN agrees with EPA that the current primary standards for PM 2.5 are insufficient to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety; however, we feel that EPA has underestimated the strength of the evidence for protections at lower levels and overestimated the uncertainties about public health risks posed by annual exposures to PM 2.5 pollution. We found that the scientific evidence supports the conclusion that an annual level of 8.0 ug/m3 is requisite to protect public health. In addition, we encouraged EPA to adopt a 24-hour standard from 25 to 30 ug/m3 as recommended by the Chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) majority.
Read the testimony of EPN member John Bachmann.