By: Elizabeth Bechard, Public Health Manager
Date: July 29, 2026
About: Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-0728-0114
To: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Good morning. My name is Elizabeth Bechard, and I’m the Public Health Manager for Moms Clean Air Force. I’m here today to ask EPA to reject the current proposal and to maintain strong tailpipe protections for new heavy-duty diesel vehicles, as your job is to protect human health and the environment.
The American Lung Association’s 2026 State of the Air Report shows that nearly half of children in the U.S. are exposed to unhealthy levels of ozone pollution and/or particle pollution in their communities. This is an unacceptably high number, and tailpipe exhaust from heavy-duty vehicles is a significant source of both particle pollution and the nitrogen oxides that react in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone.
We know that breathing unhealthy air is dangerous for children’s developing lungs. Tailpipe pollution is a significant contributor to asthma, which is the leading cause of chronic illness in children. Many of our Moms Clean Air Force members across the country care for children with asthma and have to deal with the frightening reality of watching their children struggle to breathe when the air quality is poor.
As the mother of a child with a complex neuroimmune illness, I’m also especially concerned about emerging evidence of the harmful impact of air pollution on children’s immune systems and brains, and this is what I want to speak to today. Research suggests that exposure to air pollution may be linked to increased risk of autoimmune diseases, and we know that air pollution harms our delicate brains. A recent study from the University of Finland suggests that traffic pollution may contribute to brain inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases by harming brain cells called microglia, which are specialized immune cells in the brain that clear cellular waste and help maintain homeostasis. Other studies are finding that traffic pollution can adversely impact memory, attention, and executive function through mechanisms like neurotoxicity and neuroinflammation.
When my son is in a flare of his illness, his brain becomes acutely inflamed, and we go to great lengths to protect him from anything that might make this inflammation worse, including exposure to unhealthy air. We live in Vermont, where heavy-duty tailpipe pollution isn’t our primary air pollution threat, but in many parts of the country, this threat is far greater. I think often of families like ours whose medically complex children are exposed to unhealthy levels of traffic pollution on a daily basis. We know that the burden of traffic pollution is much higher for communities of color and low-income communities, which compounds existing health inequities.
Weakening tailpipe pollution protections for new heavy-duty diesel vehicles would be a step in the wrong direction for all children and families, but especially for families living with asthma or other chronic illnesses that make them uniquely vulnerable to the threat of unhealthy air. I urge you to reject the amendments in this EPA proposal and to maintain the stronger standards that were finalized in 2022. Thank you.