Laserfiche WebLink
• Health effects associated with long-term exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) include: <br />o Premature death in people with heart and lung diseases, including death from lung <br />cancer <br />o Reduced lung function <br />o Development of chronic respiratory disease in children <br />Exposure to coarse particle pollution <br />• Health effects associated with short-term exposure to coarse particles include: <br />o Premature death in people with heart or lung disease <br />o Hospital admissions for heart disease <br />o Increased hospital admissions and doctors' visits for respiratory disease <br />o Increased respiratory symptoms in children <br />o Decreased lung function <br />Available evidence generally does not suggest a link between long-term exposure to coarse <br />particles and health problems. <br />IMPLEMENTING THE STANDARDS <br />• The Clean Air Act requires EPA to designate areas as attainment (meeting the standards) or <br />nonattainment (not meeting the standards) when the Agency sets a new standard, or revises <br />an existing standard. <br />The following schedule will apply to areas not meeting the 24-hour fine particle <br />standard: <br />o States will make recommendations by Nov. 2007 for areas to be designated <br />attainment (meeting the standards) and nonattainment (violating the standards). <br />o EPA will make designations by November 2009; those designations will become <br />effective in April 2010. <br />o State Implementation Plans, which outline how states will reduce pollution to meet <br />the standards, will be due three years after designations, in April 2013. <br />o States must meet the standards by April 2015, with a possible extension to April <br />2020. <br />EPA has issued a number of rules to help states to meet the standards. These rules make <br />significant strides toward reducing fine particle pollution both regionally and across the <br />country. These rules include the Clean Air Interstate Rule to reduce emissions from power <br />plants in the eastern United States; the Clean Diesel Program to reduce emissions from <br />highway, nonroad and stationary diesel engines nationwide, and the Clean Air Visibility Rule <br />to reduce emissions affecting air quality in national parks. <br />EPA will not designate new attainment and nonattainment areas for the 24-hour PMIo <br />standards. <br />