The EPA recently released a draft proposal to update the national air quality standard for PM2.5.
This proposal is a positive step toward clean air for all, but it does not go far enough to protect our communities from this dangerous pollutant. A stronger standard could save nearly 20,000 lives per year.
Fine particle pollution, or PM2.5, is linked to asthma attacks, strokes, cardiac arrest, and lung cancer. This pollution is spewing from vehicle tailpipes, power plants, backyard polluters like Concrete Batch Plants and other industrial sources. A new analysis by The Guardian ranked Houston as the sixth worst hotspot in the United States for PM2.5.
We need EVERYONE to submit comments to the EPA urging the agency to strengthen their proposal. The EPA is listening, but they need the public’s support to do the right thing by setting the strongest standard possible and not giving in to big polluters’ demands.
Write your comment to EPA by March 28
Comments must be sent to: [email protected] with the subject line: EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072
Make sure to insert your name at the introduction and signature, add your personal story and COPY [email protected] so that we can better count our supporters!
To Whom It May Concern,
I [your name/business/organization] am encouraged by the proposed strengthening of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter (PM2.5), but I would like to see the EPA go even further to protect our public health by making the standard 8 micrograms per cubic meter.
[Insert a personal connection to air quality concerns. If you have people you care about who suffer from asthma or other respiratory conditions, share your concern for their well-being. If there is a case of industry being too close to residential areas in your community, as there are in many, share that.]
Here in Texas, our state agency is not known for being proactive when it comes to protecting our public health. A significant improvement to the national standards is sorely needed to help advance more protective policies for communities in our state.
Sincerely,
[Your Name and Contact Information here]