Sen. Boxer & EPA Administrator Jackson Highlight the Need for Strong Clean Air Rules to Protect Public Health

Environment America

This morning the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, is holding a hearing featuring testimony from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on air pollution’s threats to public health, and forthcoming rules to limit dangerous pollution and save lives.

Environment America Toxics Advocate Shelley Vinyard will be live-tweeting from the hearing under @EnvAm.  Follow: http://twitter.com/EnvAm

Vinyard issued the following statement in advance of the hearing:

“All Americans should be able to breathe clean air.  Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency’s work to cut dangerous and toxic air pollution like mercury, smog, and carbon dioxide, we’re getting closer to that reality.   

“But air pollution still poses serious threats to our health.  As summer is upon us, we’re experiencing more smog-heavy unhealthy air days that put Americans across the country at risk of increased asthma attacks, difficulty breathing, and reduced lung function.  In fact, three days last week saw smog levels so high in Washington, D.C. that the air was determined unhealthy to breathe for sensitive populations, including children, older adults, and people with respiratory illness. 

“In addition, mercury exposure is linked to developmental disorders and can impair a child’s ability to learn.  The problem is so widespread that one in ten American women has enough mercury in her body to put her child at risk if she were to become pregnant.  Power plants are the single largest source of mercury air pollution in the United States and are a significant source of smog-forming pollution, so they must be required to clean up in order to protect public health.  

“EPA is well-poised to tackle the serious threats of air pollution and protect public health by building on more than 40 years of successful and cost-effective implementation of the Clean Air Act.  The Clean Air Act saved more than 160,000 lives in 2010 alone, and by 2020, that number is expected to grow to 230,000 lives saved annually.  Supporting EPA moving forward with clean air standards also makes good economic sense.  In a recent review of the law, EPA found that the benefits of implementing the Clean Air Act exceed the cost by a factor of more than 30 to one. 

“In addition, the American public strongly supports EPA moving forward with updated clean air standards.  A poll commissioned by the American Lung Association this year found that 79 percent of voters support stricter limits on mercury pollution, and 77 percent of voters support stricter limits on both smog pollution and carbon dioxide. 

“While some in Congress are working to block new standards to cut mercury and other dangerous air pollution, we applaud EPA Administrator Jackson and Senator Boxer for highlighting the need to move forward with strong limits on pollution to protect the health of our nation’s children and families

“As EPA works to finalize its recently proposed rule to drastically reduce mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants and protect public health with other upcoming pollution limits, we urge Congress to support EPA’s efforts for the sake of protecting America’s children and saving lives.”