Science Snippet: Air Quality Standards

The acting chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently fired a panel of scientific experts charged with reviewing air-quality standards for particulate matter. He also fired the members of a panel who were assisting in determining ground-level ozone limits. It’s been estimated that up to 10 percent of disability days in large cities may be due to particulate pollution from diesel exhausts and other combustion sources. Some experts even suggest that up to 80 percent of human disease can be attributed to environmental factors. Paul Billings, senior vice president at the American Lung Association, said the administration “… is working to provide a result driven by political science, not health science.”

Source: sciencemag.org/news