The public health benefits of air pollution control

Abstract

The US Congress is currently engaged in a debate regarding restriction of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority under the Clean Air Act. The discussion has been focused on the cost to business to complywith the CleanAir Act and the potential negative effect on employment. As heath care professionals, we believe it is necessary to review some of the facts since the Clean AirActwas initiated and the role of theCleanAirAct in the future. In the past year, the House of Representatives has passed a number of bills that would stop, delay, or weaken the EPA rules issued under the authority of the Clean Air Act. The House has passed legislation that would prevent or delay clean up of emissions from cement kilns, coarse particulate matter pollution, industrial boilers, mercury and toxic pollutants from power plants, and pollution from power plants that blow across state borders to neighboring downwind states. Additionally, the House has passed legislation that would subject all future EPA/Clean Air Act rules to a cost/benefit assessment that is heavily tilted in favor of the regulated industry. Why is the House engaged in this attack on the Clean Air Act? Opponents of the EPA have portrayed the agency as a prime example of government overreach and a bureaucratic agency run amok. Opponents of the EPA say the rules are ‘‘job-destroying regulations’’ that create regulatory uncertainty and hurt the overall US economy. Supporters of the EPA counter that complying with the Clean Air Act rules will create new jobs, largely in sectors that install and maintain pollution control equipment. What is missing from the discussion are the health effects of air pollution and the potential health gains that can be made by reducing air pollution. We believe that an analysis of available health and economic data show that air pollution standards have significant net benefits for our society at large. There is compelling evidence that air pollution has severe adverse health effects, particularly for respiratory health. Several