Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a final plan to strengthen a critical national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for soot pollution, also known as fine particle pollution or PM2.5. The finalized rule reduces the annual standard from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). Soot is primarily emitted from power plants, industrial facilities, and gas-powered vehicles. Despite the Clean Air Act requiring an update every five years, this is the first time the soot standard has been strengthened in over a decade. The Evangelical Environmental Network applauds President Biden, Administrator Regan, and the dedicated EPA staff for prioritizing the health and lives of the American people, especially those most vulnerable, by making this much-needed and long-overdue update to cut soot pollution.

In response, the Rev. Dr. Jessica Moerman, President & CEO of the Evangelical Environmental Network, released the following statement:

“Every child deserves to reach their full God-given potential. However, before they even draw their own first breath, soot pollution can rob children of a bright future, saddling them with asthma, reduced IQ, and complications from pre-term birth. Therefore, it is no understatement to call today’s announcement truly life-changing. The strengthened soot standard will ensure more Americans can experience a more “abundant life” (John 10:10), saving thousands of lives, improving the quality of life for hundreds of thousands more, and saving billions in avoided health costs.” 

As pro-life evangelicals, we have a special concern for the vulnerable and marginalized, including our children. We want children to be born healthy and unhindered by the ravages of pollution. The medical community has long known that unborn children in particular are especially vulnerable to environmental impacts. PM2.5 is among the most harmful health threats to young and developing children. Currently, 1 in 9 pregnancies in the U.S. result in pre-term birth, and the rate is even higher for Black mothers and babies, with 1 in 5 pregnancies resulting in pre-term birth.[1] The leading cause of pre-term birth is intrauterine inflammation, and the leading cause of this inflammation is PM2.5.[2] The effect of this pollution is approximately 16,000 pre-term births in the U.S., with 35% of these births resulting in death.[3]

These consequences are unacceptable. That is why EEN celebrates EPA’s leadership to ensure safe air for our communities and neighborhoods by lowering the annual soot standard. The job, however, is not done. We commit to continuing to work with our state and federal partners to see the full and effective implementation of the new standard without delay. We also cannot stop there. We need further protections for our children’s health, including lowering the current 24-hour standard from 35 to 25 μg/m3 and the annual standard to 8-5 μg/m3. For us, creation care is a biblical command and a matter of life, which is why we will work to defend our children’s health from the dangers of PM2.5.

Background:

National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) set a baseline standard for air quality across the United States, with the Clean Air Act requiring NAAQS standards to be updated every five years. As one of the six NAAQS criteria air pollutants, soot or PM2.5 is fine, inhalable particle pollution 2.5 micrometers and smaller, capable of traveling through the bloodstream and lodging in our lungs, hearts, and brains.

PM2.5 is primarily generated – both directly and indirectly – by the combustion of coal, diesel, gasoline, biofuels, and related high-temperature processes. It contains complex mixtures of particles including soot, organics, nitrates, sulfates, metals, and related chemicals that can penetrate deeply into the lungs and brain. PM2.5 is a deadly killer responsible for up to 200,000 deaths in the United States every year.[4] Recent medical research links PM2.5 to nine (9) causes of death: cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, lung cancer, and pneumonia.[5]

The updated soot rule reduces the annual soot standard from 12 to 9 μg/m3, the most protective range considered in the EPA’s original proposal. It also improves quality assurance measures for data monitoring and adds requirements designed to increase air monitoring in underserved communities who are overburdened by pollution. The final rule, however, does not update the 24-hour standard, which remains unchanged at 35 μg/m3.

Altogether, the strengthened soot safeguards are projected to deliver the following health benefits in the year 2032, when the standard is expected to be in full effect:

• Save up to 4,500 lives from premature death
• Prevent up to 6,000 people from developing asthma
• Prevent up to 800,000 asthma attacks and adverse symptoms
• Prevent up to 290,000 lost work-days due to illness
• Prevent up to 2,000 emergency room visits
• Save up to $46 billion in avoided health costs (approximately 77-times the estimated compliance costs)

[1] Nachman RM, Mao G, Zhang X, Hong X, Chen Z, Soria CS, He H, Wang G, Caruso D, Pearson C, Biswal S, Zuckerman B, Wills-Karp M, Wang X. Intrauterine Inflammation and Maternal Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 during Preconception and Specific Periods of Pregnancy: The Boston Birth Cohort. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 Oct;124(10):1608-1615. doi: 10.1289/EHP243. Epub 2016 Apr 27. PMID: 27120296; PMCID: PMC5047781.

[2] Tessum CW, Apte JS, Goodkind AL, Muller NZ, Mullins KA, Paolella DA, Polasky S, Springer NP, Thakrar SK, Marshall JD, Hill JD. Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial-ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Mar 26;116(13):6001-6006. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1818859116. Epub 2019 Mar 11. PMID: 30858319; PMCID: PMC6442600. Tessum CW, Apte JS, Goodkind AL, Muller NZ, Mullins KA, Paolella DA, Polasky S, Springer NP, Thakrar SK, Marshall JD, Hill JD. Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial-ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Mar 26;116(13):6001-6006. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1818859116. Epub 2019 Mar 11. PMID: 30858319; PMCID: PMC6442600.

[3] Leonardo Trasande, Patrick Malecha, and Teresa M. Attina, Particulate Matter Exposure and Preterm Birth: Estimates of U.S. Attributable Burden and Economic Costs, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES, http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510810, March 2016

[4] J. Lelievelda, K. Klingmüllera, A. Pozzera, R. T. Burnettc, A. Hainesd, and V. Ramanathan, Effects of fossil fuel and total anthropogenic emission removal on public health and climate, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2019, 116 (15) 7192-7197; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1819989116

[5] Benjamin Bowe, MPH1,2; Yan Xie, MPH1,2,3; Yan Yan, MD, PhD1,4; et al., Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States, JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(11): e1915834. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15834