Cleaning up power plants is critically important because particle pollution and ozone smog cause coughing and wheezing, trigger asthma attacks, send people to the emergency room and cause heart attacks and strokes, as well as premature death.  Millions of people are at risk from this pollution, including children, seniors, those with chronic lung diseases like asthma and COPD, and those with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.    Today's proposal is an important step to protect public health, and will save between 14,000 and 36,000 lives a year. Nonetheless, more work is needed to truly protect the public.

The American Lung Association is encouraged that today's proposal creates a framework for additional pollution controls that can be implemented to address more protective air quality standards. The national standard for ozone is currently under review and the EPA is expected to announce a new standard by the end of August.  The American Lung Association, along with other major public health and medical organizations, has called for an ozone standard of 60 parts per billion, the most protective level under consideration by the EPA.  When the EPA sets the new standard, this regional power plant regulatory framework must be strengthened to provide further pollution reductions to help the states in the East and Midwest meet the new standard.

The American Lung Association will file detailed comments on the transport rule to recommend ways to strengthen the health benefits and ensure the pollution reductions are implemented as quickly as possible.

SOURCE American Lung Association