March 27, 2024
On February 7, 2024, the United States Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (PM NAAQS), announced by the EPA. According to the EPA, the new standards protect millions of Americans from harmful and costly health impacts, such as heart attacks and premature death. Particle or soot pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution, and an extensive body of science links it to a range of serious and sometimes deadly illnesses. EPA is setting the level of the primary (health-based) annual PM2.5 standard at 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter to provide increased public health protection, consistent with the available health science.
EPA is not changing the current:
primary and secondary (welfare-based) 24-hour PM2.5 standards,
secondary annual PM2.5 standard, and
primary and secondary PM10 standards.
EPA is also revising the Air Quality Index to improve public communications about the risks from PM2.5 exposures and making changes to the monitoring network to enhance protection of air quality in communities overburdened by air pollution.