Sierra Club Members to Show Support for Strong Soot Standards in EPA Public Hearings

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, EPA is holding public hearings on the Agency’s proposed air quality standard for particulate matter, also known as soot. During the hearings, which start today and will run through Thursday, EPA will hear from people across the country urging the Agency to strengthen its proposed standard for soot–a deadly mix of metals, organic chemicals, and acidic substances so small they can be inhaled deeply into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

Since 2021, Sierra Club and a diverse coalition of partners have called upon EPA to strengthen both the annual and 24-hour standards for soot. On January 6, 2023, EPA proposed its long-overdue and long-awaited draft proposal to update the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for soot, but the proposal falls short of what public health demands, communities deserve, and science requires.

By following scientific evidence and setting the final annual soot standard no higher than 8 micrograms per cubic meter, EPA can save nearly 20,000 lives and demonstrate the Biden Administration's commitment to protecting the right to clean air.

Sierra Club members and supporters will testify alongside many other clean air and public health advocates during the public hearings. The following are statements from some of those members:      

Ross Macfarlane, Sierra Club Director:

“Particulate matter is extremely dangerous to public health and we need to be doing everything possible to keep soot out of people's lungs. As someone who has asthma, I have personally experienced the way that air particles constrict my breathing. In the past few years, the Northwest has suffered long periods where smoke from forest fires severely affects my breathing and millions of others. I also know that soot from industries, diesel engines, and other sources is concentrated in and causes particular harm to black and brown communities, whose residents suffer much higher levels of asthma and other diseases that are caused by breathing fine particles. Both at EPA and in private practice, I worked extensively on issues relating to air pollution, and saw first hand the ways that polluters can weaken laws and evade regulation.”

Jenn DeRose, Campaign Representative for Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign in Missouri:

“In my adopted hometown of St. Louis, we’re suffering from excessive air pollution. The city is surrounded by a ring of coal-fired power plants, highways, and polluting industries. It’s not a coincidence that 11% of St. Louis residents have asthma, according to the American Lung Association. Unfortunately, the impacts of air pollution disproportionately impact my Black neighbors more than white neighbors. A recent report from the City of St. Louis found that Black children are ten times more likely to visit the emergency room than white kids for asthma-related complications. These disparities around health and air pollution both break my heart and boil my blood. This is a solvable problem, and I think strengthening this federal rule is imperative to saving lives in my city and in my state.”

Neil Waggoner, Sierra Club Deputy Director of Federal Energy Campaigns:

“Growing up in the Cleveland suburbs, the coal-fired power plants looming over Lake Erie’s north shore were a part of my life. This included FirstEnergy’s Eastlake plant, a plant that was ever present when I walked out my front door and was in the backdrop of every primary school I attended. Later, when I went to college in Southeast Ohio, there was a coal plant in the middle of campus and multiple coal plants in the region, including the infamous General James Gavin plant, one of the largest polluters in the country. I knew many friends, family members, and members of my community that dealt with respiratory issues. The basic geography of my upbringing meant myself and people I cared about were impacted by a disproportionate amount of pollution.

“And my story is not uncommon. Too many Americans suffer health harms and premature death because the air where they live is unsafe to breathe - the areas with the dirtiest air continue to be disproportionately lower-income communities and Black or Latinx neighborhoods. The American Lung Association’s 2021 “State of the Air” report found that more than 40% of Americans currently live in places with unhealthy levels of ozone and soot pollution. EPA must do what’s right and take action against harmful soot pollution by setting strong standards as quickly as possible.”

Clare Burchenal, Colorado:

“I'm testifying in favor of the proposed revision of the soot standards on behalf of my patients and the firsthand experiences I've had taking care of children impacted by the health consequences of dirty air. It’s frustrating to have to keep adding new medications to control my patient’s asthma after they were admitted to the ICU for an asthma attack, when I know that what they really need is cleaner air to breathe. As a pediatrician, I've also seen how the burden of poor air quality is not equally distributed. My patients from communities of ethnic and racial minorities and those experiencing poverty are living with the dirtiest air. These children are already at higher risk of asthma that is made worse by air pollution. As such, poor air quality is not just a health issue, it's a matter of justice.

“As a physician it is my responsibility to help my patients live their healthiest lives, and what our neighborhoods and communities need right now is a prescription for healthier air. This comes in the form of the strongest possible standards for pollution set by the EPA. Cleaner air could mean that more of my patients could safely play outside and have access to all of the benefits that time in nature can have on their health. I'm therefore testifying to ask the EPA to invest in the health of our children.”