higher levels of soot and other air pollutants as they are more likely to be located near highways, oil and gas wells and other industrial sources.
The EPA proposal seeks to limit the pollution of industrial fine soot particles — which measure less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter — from the current annual level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter to a level between 9 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter, which the EPA said aligns with the latest health data and scientific evidence.
The Trump administration had declined to tighten the existing Obama-era regulations that were set in 2012, despite warnings from EPA scientists that doing so could save thousands of lives in the U.S. "The 2012 standards are no longer sufficient," EPA Administrator Michael Regan told reporters during a briefing on Thursday. "This administration is committed to working to ensure all people have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and an opportunity to live a healthy life."
If the proposal is finalized, a strengthened annual PM 2.5 standard at a level of 9 micrograms per cubic meter — the lower end of the agency's proposed range — would prevent up to 4,200 annual premature deaths and result in as much as $43 billion in net health benefits in 2032, according to the EPA.