CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
Washington, DC— Today, Moms Clean Air Force’s National Manager for Health Equity, Almeta E. Cooper, testified before the US House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials in support of strong particle pollution standards. Particle pollution, also known as “PM2.5” and “soot pollution,” consists of tiny particles that can become embedded in our lungs and enter into the bloodstream, triggering asthma attacks and contributing to heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes, premature birth, and more.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently considering a new particle pollution rule that would strengthen current standards and help protect public health. Almeta’s testimony defends EPA’s authority–and duty–to strengthen these standards. Almeta told the Committee:
“Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to use the best available science to set air quality standards that are protective of human health. Moms Clean Air Force believes it is imperative that EPA follow the science and enact strong safeguards. It is a legal duty, and we believe that everyone has a right to breathe clean air… Particle pollution, also known as PM2.5, is also a leading cause of premature death. In the US, researchers estimate that PM2.5 is responsible for well over 100,000 deaths each year – a staggering toll for families and communities around the country.”
Cutting particle pollution is critical to environmental justice, Almeta testified:
“The public health burden of PM2.5 is not distributed evenly. In the US, people of color, particularly Black and Latino communities, are disproportionately exposed to this dangerous pollutant. People of color are more than six times more likely to visit the emergency room for asthma-related issues. Black children are more than seven times more likely to die from asthma than white children. And Black Americans 65 years and older are three times more likely to die from exposure to soot than white Americans over 65. These inequities are patently unjust.”
The last half of Almeta’s testimony focused on the stories of families who are heavily impacted by particle pollution and/or have struggled with health challenges linked to exposure.
Read Almeta’s full testimony here.
RESOURCES:
- Almeta’s Testimony
- Hearing Recording
- Particle Pollution Fact Sheet
- Moms’ Statement on EPA’s Proposed Standards