U.S. EPA Proposes Stricter Air Quality Rules

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The Clinton administration, in a move expected to have far-reaching effects on health and industry, on Wednesday proposed tightening air quality standards for smog and tiny particles that lodge in the lungs.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a limit on smog-forming ozone pollution of 80 parts per billion measured over eight hours. Currently, a metropolitan area is in violation when ozone exceeds 120 parts per billion in a single hour.

The EPA also proposed stricter standards for airborne particulates such as soot and sulfates, and for the first time focused on the tiniest particles of less than 2.5 microns which are most apt to penetrate and damage lung tissue.

The agency proposed a standard allowing daily concentrations of up to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air and annual average concentrations of up to 15 micrograms per cubic meter for the smallest particles.

The EPA is scheduled to issue a final rule in June, and is expected to come under attack by industry groups that say tighter rules will cost billion of dollars and inconvenience motorists and other consumers.

But health and environmental advocates say existing standards are too lax, allowing thousands of people to die prematurely and many more to suffer more serious symptoms from lung and heart ailments.

• U.S. EPA Proposes Stricter Air Quality Standards - Wed Nov 27 12:56 pm