Incremental lowering of ozone health standards and missed opportunity on ecosystem protections. EPA finalized its latest review and refinement of the ozone standards for protection of human health and ecosystems. It lowered the primary health standard from 84 to 75 parts per billion (ppb), putting off the further reductions necessary to protect public health. For the secondary standard, which is aimed at protecting vegetation (crops and forests), the agency, in a last minute change, adopted the same level and form as the primary standard. EPA had appeared to be moving toward a first time change to the secondary standard that was more appropriate for protecting vegetation and AMC, with others, provide
comments regarding the form and level.
Hiker health and ozone. EPA's scientific advisory board unanimously agreed that the current health standard should be lowered to between 60 and 70 ppb. A hiker health study conducted by AMC and others found that healthy hikers experience respiratory function impacts at ozone levels well below the current standard.
The summit of Mount Washington has exceeded the 75 ppb standard 16 years out of the 18 eligible years (using the 3-year rolling average method) that AMC and others have monitored ozone, since 1987. Below is a graphic showing the change, historically, in the number of days that would be considered "unhealthy" on the summit of Mount Washington by shifting the standard to the 8-hour 75 ppb average level. See near real-time ozone levels and learn more about ozone impacts in the mountains.
A graph comparing the number of unhealthy air days in summer on the summit of Mount Washington for the old (85 ppb) and new (75 ppb) health standard
New Particle Standards Fall Short
In September of 2006 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued updated fine particulate standards as required by the Clean Air Act. EPA lowered the daily health standard but they fell short of the protections recommended by their own advisory committee made up of the nation's leading scientists that work on fine particle health impacts. addition, EPA ignored AMC's and others' comments to address visibility impairment from fine particles by not seizing this opportunity to issue a secondary particle standard that would have addressed haze pollution.
