March 8 , 2006

Contact:
- Andrew Weisser, (818) 703-6444, aweisser@earthlink.net
www.californialung.org
or your local American Lung Association at (800) LUNG-USA

American Lung Association Calls on EPA to Strengthen Particle Pollution Protections for All Americans

Editor’s Note: A related news conference will be held 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, March 8 at the Courtyard Marriott (299 Second St. at Folsom in San Francisco) where the EPA hearing will be held. News conference location: SOMA Room 6, Second Floor. American Lung Association spokespeople will include:

• Jonah Ramirez, 10-year-old boy with asthma from San Bernardino
• John R. Balmes, MD

(EMBARGOED: 10 a.m. March 8, 2006, San Francisco, CA) – The American Lung Association urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to heed the call of people affected by air pollution and tighten limits placed on particle air pollution. Recommendations and comments of scientists, air quality experts, physicians, other health professionals and community residents will be heard today at public hearings in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The San Francisco hearing will occur 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today at the Courtyard Marriott (see address above).

“Our message to the EPA at today’s hearing in San Francisco is quite simple: Follow the science and clean up the air. That means tough new standards,” said John Balmes, MD, volunteer chair of the American Lung Association of California’s Clean Air Technical Advisory Group.

  “More than 2,000 scientific studies have shown that the current particle pollution standards do not protect public health. EPA set those standards in 1997 when we knew much less than we do now about the health impact of particle pollution. We now know better. There is no excuse to set the new standards at levels that still do not meet the basic legal requirement outlined in the Clean Air Act, to protect the lives and health of the public,” said Balmes.

“Californians are stepping forward to let the EPA know that strong, truly protective regulations are needed to curb particle or air pollution,” said Laura Keegan Boudreau , acting chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of California.

The hearings focus on an EPA proposal for new national air quality standards for particle pollution, also known as soot. The new standards, formally proposed by the EPA on January 17, are weaker than those recommended by the EPA’s own staff scientists and other experts, including more than 100 independent air quality researchers and physicians.

Said 10-year-old American Lung Association spokesperson Jonah Ramirez from San Bernardino, “At age seven, I developed asthma. I wasn’t born with it. I developed it. Why? Because I love to play outside. You see, I wasn’t aware of the consequences of playing outside. While I was carelessly running around, laughing, playing, yelling, skating, being silly, I was also breathing deeply. Breathing dirty, smoggy air that my government claims is “safe.” If this air is so safe, then why did it make me sick? Why is it now that before I play hockey, I have to make sure I hand my coach my inhaler? If the air is so “safe,” then why did I have to stay inside five days last year because smog levels were so high? I couldn’t take a chance of breathing outside air. It has been 10 years since the last standards were set regarding particulate matter, and they are supposed to be set every five years. If the meeting that was supposed to happen when I was five would have taken place, would I be standing here today as a child asthmatic?”

“The proposal falls far short of what is necessary to protect public health,” said Bonnie Holmes-Gen , an air quality expert with the American Lung Association of California. “It is clear that Californians understand that particle pollution poses a serious threat, as particles are so small, they can lodge deep inside of our lungs and can travel through the bloodstream to the heart and other organs. Particle pollution is the nation’s most dangerous air pollutant, causing asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer and slowing lung growth and development in children. It cuts short the lives of tens of thousands of Americans every year. Current standards, and the new ones proposed by EPA, are not strong enough to address those health risks.”

Additional information on the EPA proposal is available at: www.cleanairstandards. org or www.epa.gov/air/particles/actions.htm

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For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is “Improving life, one breath at a time.” For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1.800.LUNG.USA (1.800.586.4872) or visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.californialung.org.