Clean Air Protections and Health - A Medical Perspective
Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee promised to continue beating back at what they call job-killing EPA regulations by the Obama administration this fall. Nemours Pediatric MD Candidate Hillary Gordon prepared this fact sheet to highlight some of the most agregious attacks and the negative effects that delaying or reversing public health safeguards would have on public health.
Clean Air and Public Health Safeguards are under attack in U.S. Congress:
o House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) recently announced his legislative priorities for the fall and they are focused around blocking or repealing twelve clean air safeguards being proposed or implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
o The EPA estimates clean air regulations saved more than 160,000 lives in 2010, with at least 230 of those lives belonging to infants.
o Scientists expect an increase to 230,000 lives saved, with at least 280 belonging to infants by 2020 using clean air policies.
Harmful Health Effects of Blocking or Repealing Clean Air and Public Health Safeguards:
o According to EPA figures, for each year that these 12 clean air safeguards are blocked, the harmful health effects would be:
o Up to 38,600 additional premature deaths
o Over 19,000 more heart attacks
o Over 205,000 additional asthma attacks
o Over 4 million more days when Americans will miss work or school due to air pollution
The Current Cost of Unchecked Air Pollution:
o Greater than 14 million school days are missed annually by students suffering from asthma (~8 days per year for each student suffering from asthma).
o ~15 million work days are missed annually by adults suffering from asthma.
o The annual direct health care cost of asthma is $18 billion ($10 billion for hospitalizations and $8 billion in earnings lost).
o Economic analysis has shown that the economic benefits of updated clean air standards outweigh the costs at a ratio of 30:1. Meeting EPA cement plant standards, for example, will produce benefits of $6.7 billion to $18 billion annually, with a benefit-cost ratio 20:1.
o According to the EPA, for every year meeting cement standards are delayed there are 100,000 missed work days.
Two Upcoming Bills and Why They Should Be Rejected in the U.S. Senate to Protect Health:
o H.R. 2401, the TRAIN Act, would block the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule indefinitely.
o EPA estimates that these standards would have health benefits of up to $40 billion every year starting in 2016 with benefits outweighing utility costs 13:1
o According to EPA figures, blocking these standards for just one additional year would lead to over 12,200 more hospital and emergency room visits and up to 25,300 American lives lost due to smog, soot and toxic pollution like mercury.
o H.R. 2681 delays 2010 standards that were put in place to reduce mercury pollution and soot from cement plants by a minimum of 4.5 years.
o Cement plants are the 4th largest source of industrial mercury emissions in the United States.
o For every year meeting cement standards are delayed there are up to 2,500 premature deaths, 1,500 heart attacks, and 1,500 emergency room visits
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Clean Air Fact Sheet for Katie 9.19.11.doc | 375 KB |
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