In June, the public comment period closed on the EPA’s draft rule on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter. Now we wait, as the agency reviews the more than 66,000 public comments submitted and Trump leadership at EPA rushes to finalize the rule by its own arbitrary deadline of the end of 2020. Here’s a rundown of the state of play, and where I and the Union of Concerned Scientists stand on the nation’s protections against one of the most common and harmful air pollutants in the US. Read more >

Old Laws, New Science, and Protecting Public Health: The Trump Administration’s Decision on Particulate Pollution Standards
July 13, 2020 12:08 PM EDT

A Flawed Process and a Harmful Outcome: My Comments on the EPA Particulate Pollution Standards
May 20, 2020 8:00 AM EDT
On Thursday, May 21, I will deliver the below oral comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency, speaking against Administrator Wheeler’s proposed rule to maintain the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM). Read more >

The EPA Is Set To Ignore Science and Risk Your Health on Particulate Pollution: Your Voice Needed
May 14, 2020 12:12 PM EDT
The Trump Administration is set to ignore science and risk your health on an air pollution rule that will affect millions of people in the US. By June 29, we need the voices of scientists and members of the public to tell the EPA and the Trump Administration that our particulate matter (PM) standards must protect public health, as the Clean Air Act requires. Here’s a list of top points it would be useful to make in public comments. Read more >

The Experts Have Spoken: Disbanded Particulate Pollution Panel Finds EPA Standards Don’t Protect Public Health
October 22, 2019 9:39 AM EDT
A group of 20 independent experts on particulate matter air pollution, disbanded by EPA Administrator Wheeler last October and reconvened last week, has now made clear that the current particulate pollution standards don’t protect public health and welfare. Read more >

Dear Administrator Wheeler: This is What EPA Science Advice Looks Like
October 15, 2019 3:19 PM EDT
Last Thursday and Friday, a historic meeting took place. A 20-member panel of air pollution experts met in Washington DC, despite being disbanded by EPA leaders exactly one year before. The panel’s work of advising EPA’s upcoming decision on particulate matter air pollution standards is far from over, but the meeting was a significant step in ensuring independent science can continue to inform the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, even as agency leaders sabotage the process. Read more >