New EPA rule could save 4,200 lives a year. Industry warns it could cost Biden his reelection.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

New EPA rule could save 4,200 lives a year. Industry warns it could cost Biden his reelection.

Business groups say the stricter standard on particulate pollution could hurt manufacturing jobs in states key to the president’s reelection chances

By Maxine Joselow
January 19, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST

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Steam billows from a paper mill in Rumford, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to significantly strengthen limits on fine particle matter, one of the nation’s most widespread deadly air pollutants, even as industry groups warn that the standard could erase manufacturing jobs across the country.

Several major companies, trade associations and some Democratic lobbyists are trying to preempt the rule by suggesting it could harm President Biden’s reelection chances in key swing states. They say the tougher standard for soot and other pollutants could destroy factory jobs and investments in the Midwest and elsewhere, undermining Biden’s pitch that he has revitalized these areas more than Donald Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner.

Public health advocates strongly disagree with the industry’s assertions. They say strengthening the soot standard would yield significant medical and economic benefits by preventing thousands of hospitalizations, lost workdays and lost lives, particularly in communities of color that are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air.

Efforts to curb PM2.5 — tiny particles measuring less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, or one-thirtieth the width of a human hair — have produced enormous public health benefits along with massive political pushback. These particles, which include soot, can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing asthma, heart disease and thousands of premature deaths each year.

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By Maxine Joselow
Maxine Joselow is a staff writer who covers climate change and the environment. Twitter https://twitter.com/maxinejoselow

[eppur_se_muova]

1. "Steam billows from a paper mill ..." Yeah, that's got a whole lot to do with **particulate** pollution.

A rap on the knuckles for the photo editor.

[hunter]

2. If soot makes people sick that's more profits for the health care industry.

Soot has double-plus economic benefits!