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Clearing Up the Smog: Debunking Industry Claims that We Can’t Afford Healthy Air

Clearing Up the Smog: Debunking Industry Claims that We Can’t Afford Healthy Air

Full Title: Clearing Up the Smog: Debunking Industry Claims that We Can’t Afford Healthy Air
Author(s): Jeremy Fisher, Tyler Comings, Frank Ackerman, and Sarah Jackson
Publisher(s): Synapse Energy
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to strengthen the national clean air standard for ozone to protect public health. Ground-level ozone (the primary constituent of smog) contributes to respiratory damage, asthma attacks, lung disease, damage to the cardiovascular system, hospitalizations and premature deaths. Ozone is formed from air pollution emitted by power plants, factories, motor vehicles, and other sources . According to EPA’s independent science advisors and leading medical organizations, the current ozone standard is not adequate to protect children, seniors, asthmatics, and others from serious harm. EPA has specifically proposed to strengthen the current standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to a level within a range of 65 to 70 ppb.

In February 2015, NERA Economic Consulting issued a report for the National Association of Manufacturers making extreme claims about the cost and job impacts of meeting a 65 ppb standard. NERA’s cost estimates are more than ten times higher than those made by EPA in its 2014 Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the proposed standards.

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