The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued tougher air-quality standards for soot and other fine particles, setting the annual health standard at 12 micrograms per cubic meter, compared with the current standard of 15 micrograms per cu m.
EPA officials say the health benefits of the final regulation, announced on Dec. 14, include thousands of lives saved and will far outweigh the costs. In a call with reporters, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation, said the benefits could range from $4 billion to $9 billion per year and estimated annual implementation costs of $53 million to $350 million. McCarthy said the upper ranges of the costs reflect comments from industry groups that had contended that as particulate matter reductions go down, the costs associated per ton may go up.