Particulate matter in the air, commonly called “soot,” exacerbates and can even cause heart and lung conditions, with asthma sufferers being especially vulnerable. Soot levels contribute to numerous doctor and emergency room visits throughout the year.
After 10 years at the current level, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed lowering the acceptable levels of particulate matter from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to nine or 10 micrograms.
Jenn DeRose, a campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Missouri, said improving the standards is a matter of environmental justice. “According to a study by the City of St. Louis, Black children are 10 times more likely to visit emergency rooms for asthma-related complications, where Black adults are eight times as likely to need medical attention for the same issue as their white counterparts for the same issue,” DeRose reported.
Exhaust from industrial smokestacks and coal-fired power plants, along with vehicle exhaust, especially from diesel-powered buses and trucks, are among the top contributors to soot in the air.
DeRose pointed out that St. Louis is “surrounded by a ring of coal plants” all owned by Ameren, including one of the most polluting coal plants in the country. Along with the American Lung Association, the Sierra Club is calling for the EPA to consider even lower acceptable levels of soot; no more than eight micrograms per cubic meter. The agency is accepting public comment on its proposed changes until March 28.
DeRose noted the Sierra Club is hoping for a robust comment period with tribes and advocacy organizations as well as businesses, industry, and state and local governments weighing in. “And I’m hopeful that the EPA will listen — listen to the communities — listen to their own experts who have said that it is important to strengthen these standards, and do so,” DeRose emphasized.
Patrick Drupp, director of climate policy for the Sierra Club, said the EPA has stated its proposed change could save 20,000 lives per year, but a higher standard could save even more. “Adopting a more stringent standard, going from the low end of what they proposed of nine to what we’re asking for of no higher than eight, could save an additional 4,000 lives.”
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