WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
In early 2023, for the first time in a decade, EPA proposed new standards for particle pollution, a.k.a. soot. Moms urged the agency to strengthen the rule in dozens of testimonies at EPA’s hearing and in thousands of written comments. In February 2024, the agency finalized new, stronger soot protections at 9 micrograms per cubic meter. This is an important step, and the new rule goes a long way in strengthening the U.S. air monitor network and increasing the monitors in overburdened communities.
But more must be done. Moms are now urging EPA to prioritize protections against elevated daily exposures to soot pollution and to accelerate the adoption of enforceable pollution limits. We are also urging Congress to stand up for the hard-won annual protections, which are under attack by House and Senate members who want to overturn them.
RELATED RESOURCES
WHY WE CARE
Soot pollution consists of tiny droplets or particles in the air. The smallest particles are no more than 2.5 microns wide—30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These tiny particles, also called PM2.5 or particle pollution, are easily inhaled and can become embedded in our lungs and pass directly into the bloodstream.
Soot can come from a wide variety of sources. One of the largest sources of soot pollution is the burning of fossil fuels by coal-fired power plants, industrial facilities, and combustion engines. Soot pollution is also emitted by wildfires, agriculture, vehicle tires/road dust, and volcanic eruptions.
HEALTH IMPACTS
Soot pollution is one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. Researchers estimate that in 2018, more than 8 million people died from fossil fuel pollution—that means air pollution from burning things like coal and diesel accounted for about a fifth of deaths worldwide.
Soot can affect our health in many other ways too; it can contribute to asthma attacks, respiratory illness, lung cancer, impaired immune health, heart attacks and strokes, metabolic disorders like diabetes, preterm birth and low birth weight, and nervous system impacts, including cognitive effects.
In 2018, more than 8 million people died from fossil fuel pollution—
that means air pollution from burning fossil fuels like coal and diesel
accounted for about a fifth of deaths worldwide.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
While air pollution is a threat to everyone, the impacts are not felt equally. Communities of color and low-income communities face the greatest risk because they are hit first and worst. This inequitable system is not a coincidence. Systemic racism has created practices that force minority families to live closer to known sources of soot pollution.
Black communities with greater exposure to air pollution have higher than average childhood asthma rates, and Black children have a 500% higher mortality rate from asthma than white kids.
BACK STORY
EPA sets standards for common air pollutants that affect our health, including soot pollution. These are called the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or NAAQS (rhymes with “snacks”). In proposing NAAQS for soot pollution, EPA relies on scientific guidance from the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
The 2024 soot protections are the first update to the PM2.5 NAAQS since 2012. In the last 12 years, scientists have learned a lot more about how dangerous soot pollution is for our health. That’s why we will continue to work to strengthen the annual and daily soot standards to protect our families’ and communities’ health.