Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) on Monday joined environmental advocates to call on the Biden administration to take more aggressive action against soot pollution.
Beyer is co-chair of the Safe Climate Caucus and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as the Science, Space, and Technology panel.
He knocked the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to maintain current daily limits on exposure to this pollution at 35 micrograms, saying he was “disappointed” the rule isn’t more robust.
That level, he said, is “just way too high.”
In late 2020, the Trump administration declined to tighten the standard for soot pollution, leaving it at the level finalized under the Obama administration. But in June 2021, Biden officials said they would reconsider that decision.
In October, the EPA identified evidence for tightening the standard, saying in a draft assessment that air quality analyses and risk can “reasonably be viewed as calling into question the adequacy of the public health protection afforded by the … standards.”
Soot pollution has been linked to heart attacks, aggravated asthma and decreased lung function, as well as premature deaths.
This type of pollution comes from sources including fires, smokestacks and construction sites, as well as from pollution released by power plants and cars.
The administration’s science advisers have expressed a similar position, recommending no more than 30 micrograms in the past.
Read more about Beyer’s criticism and the EPA’s defense of the rule in our full report at TheHill.com.
