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  • Today EPA announced our latest step in clean air protection: stronger national air quality

  • standards for fine particle pollutionalso known as particulate matter or PM 2.5 – including

  • soot.

  • The updated annual standards will do more to protect the health and well being of American

  • families.

  • Science shows us that microscopic particles can penetrate deep into the lungs. This can

  • lead to a wide range of seriousand costlyhealth effects, including heart attacks,

  • strokes and aggravated asthma. Exposure to fine particle pollution is estimated to cause

  • tens of thousands of premature deaths each year.

  • The standards we finalized this week will reduce the impact of these illnesses on Americans.

  • They will also help them avoid expensive trips to the emergency room and extended hospital

  • stays. It’s estimated that by 2020 the strengthened PM 2.5 standards could provide health benefits

  • worth billions of dollars each year.

  • Thanks to safeguards weve already put in place weve made great strides towards reducing

  • particulate matter in the years to come. What that means is that the vast majority of American

  • communities will meet the updated standards by 2020 without taking any new action at all.

  • In fact, in 99 percent of our nation’s counties, the standards will require no additional state

  • or local efforts to implement.

  • In this case, the benefits far outweigh the costs. By strengthening the annual PM 2.5

  • standards, EPA and the Obama Administration have taken one more step towards cleaner air

  • and healthier communities across the country.

Today EPA announced our latest step in clean air protection: stronger national air quality

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