Background
California is in the midst of a review of its air quality standards
for
particulate matter and sulfates, prompted by concerns over children's
health. The review has important public health implications,
not only for
California, but also nationally, because of the potential impact
on the
ongoing EPA review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
for
particulate matter. The State has issued a draft staff report
recommending
tightened standards for PM10 and establishment of new standards
for fine
particles (PM2.5), which is being circulated for public comment
and peer
review.
Attaining the recommended standards will result in a reduction
of an
estimated 6,500 cases of premature mortality per year, and reduce
annual
hospitalizations by an estimated 600 for chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, 900 for pneumonia, 1,500 for cardiovascular disease,
and 500 for
asthma. Among children ages 7-14, attainment of the PM2.5
standard will
result in about 209,000 fewer days of lower respiratory symptoms
per year.
"Taken together, the evidence to date suggests that exposure
to PM is
likely to have a disproportionate effect on the elderly, and possibly
on
children and infants." concludes the draft California staff
paper.
"The consistency of results among scores of epidemiological
studies
provides substantial evidentiary support for causality.
Several hundred
studies, conducted among different populations on five continents
over
multiple time periods, have reported small, but consistently elevated
risks
of daily mortality and diverse measures of morbidity (such as
hospital
admissions and emergency department visits for cardiac and respiratory
causes, exacerbation of asthma, increased respiratory symptoms,
restricted
activity days, school absenteeism, and decreased lung function,"
states the
draft report.
This backgrounder outlines the draft staff recommended standards,
the
reaction of the environmental and public health community, and
the timeline
for decision making with opportunities for public participation.
CARB Recommended Standards
The Air Resources Board (ARB) and the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard
Assessment (OEHHA) are circulating a draft staff paper for public
comment
and for peer review by the Air Quality Advisory Committee.
The initial
recommendations are to:
--Lower the current annual average standard for PM10 from 30 to
20
ug/m3. Revise the averaging method to an annual arithmetic
mean from the
current annual geometric mean. (The federal standard is
50 ug/m3, 3 year
average of annual arithmetic mean).
--Retain the current 24-hour standard for PM10 at 50 ug/m3, not
to be
exceeded. (The federal standard is 150 ug/m3, 3 year average
of 99th
percentile concentrations).
--Establish an annual average standard for PM2.5 of 12 ug/m3,
annual
arithmetic mean. This recommendation is based on "growing
evidence from
epidemiological and toxicological studies of significant toxicity
related
to this size fraction of PM. (The federal standard is 15
ug/m3, 3 year
average of annual arithmetic mean concentrations, spatial averaging
allowed).
--No 24-hour PM2.5 standard is recommended. (The federal standard
is 65
ug/m3, 3 year average of 98th percentile concentrations).
--Retain the current 24-hour standard for sulfates of 25 ug/m3.
(There is
no federal standard). This standard is currently attained
in California.
In addition, the staff recommends review of the standards within
five
years, an anti-degradation policy for areas that attain the standards,
and
establishment of a goal of continued reductions of PM10 and PM2.5
over time.
They also propose updates to the PM10 monitoring method, adoption
of the
Federal Reference Method, a filter-based instrument, for monitoring
PM2.5,
and the addition of new continuous monitoring methods for PM.
Pages 173 to 188 of the draft staff report provide a detailed
discussion of
the staff recommendations and their rationale for the proposed
standards.
Public Health and Environmental Groups' Initial Response
Health and environmental organizations strongly support the establishment
of a stringent new annual average standard for PM2.5 and the tightening
of
the annual average standard for PM10. The annual average
standards being
proposed for both PM2.5 and PM10 are significantly more stringent
than the
federal EPA standards for these pollutants and will provide additional,
much-needed public health protections. California's recommendation
for
establishment of a 12 ug/m3 standard for PM2.5 will provide substantial
support for a stringent federal fine particle standard during
the ongoing
EPA review.
The Achilles heel of the proposal is the failure to set a protective
24-hour standard for PM2.5. The staff paper acknowledges
that PM2.5
exposures have significant, short-term health impacts, including
sickness
and death. However, they propose to defer a decision on
establishment of a
short-term PM2.5 standard until the next review. Public
health and
environmental organizations strongly favor establishment of a
stringent
24-hour standard for PM2.5 now, given the dozens of studies demonstrating
adverse health effects ranging from respiratory symptoms to mortality
following exposure to elevated concentrations of particulate air
pollution. An annual average standard is insufficient to
protect against
spikes in concentrations of fine particle pollution, particularly
from
combustions sources such as agricultural burning and wood stoves.
The draft report also fails to analyze the health protection opportunities
afforded by a short-term PM2.5 standard.
The Timeline for Decision Making and Public Participation
December 2000 Under a requirement of the Children's Environmental
Health
Protection Act, the California Air Resources Board approved a
report
recommending highest priority for the review of the California
Ambient Air
Quality Standards for Particulate Matter and Sulfates, based on
a finding
that significant harmful health effects may occur among both children
and
adults when outdoor PM10 concentrations are at or near the current
State
standards. This report is available at: www.arb.ca.gov/ch/ceh/airstandards.htm
November 30, 2001: Draft Staff Report of the Air Resources
Board and the
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is released for
public
comment. The report is available at
www.arb.ca.gov/research/aaqs/std-rs/std-rs.htm. Hard copies may be
requested from Ms. Jacqueline Cummins at 916-445-0753. Technical
questions
about the review of the standards may be directed to:
Richard Bode
Chief, Health and Exposure Assessment Branch
Air Resources Board
916-323-8413
Email: rbode@arb.ca.gov
*Dec. 3- Dec. 18, 2001: ARB holds six public meetings in
Oakland,
Sacramento, Bakersfield, Mira Loma, El Monte, and Huntington Park,
to
present their proposals and to respond to public comments.
The revised
schedule for the workshops is available at:
<A HREF="Http://arbis.ca.gov/research/aaqs/std-rs/std-rs.htm">Http://arbis.ca.gov/research/aaqs/std-rs/std-rs.htm</A>
*December 31, 2001: Written comments on the Staff Report
and the recommend
standards are due. Comments may be sent to:
Dr. David Mazzera
Air Resources Board
Research Division
P.O. Box 2815
Sacramento, CA 95612-2815
Email: dmazzera@arb.ca.gov
Phone: 916-445-9488
Fax: 916-322-4357
--
Deborah Shprentz
Consultant to the American Lung Association
Phone: 703-437-0959
Fax: 703-437-6580
Cell: 703-867-0959
dshprentz@hers.com
1516 Park Glen Court
Reston, Virginia 20190
Burning Issues Comment: "California : Politics as usual :
here is the flaw: --"No 24-hour PM2.5 standard is recommended.
"
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