Center for Biological Diversity


For Immediate Release, October 1, 2015

Contact: Patrick Sullivan, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org

EPA's Weak New Ozone Standard Endangers Public Health, Natural Environment

WASHINGTON— Kevin Bundy, climate legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, issued the following statement in response to reports that the Obama administration will issue a final rule today setting an air-quality standard of 70 parts per billion for ozone pollution:

“The Obama administration is set to issue a weak ozone standard that will allow smog to continue stunting our forests, hurting our climate and endangering kids with asthma.

“The EPA ignored warnings from its own science advisors that a 70 parts-per-billion standard does not provide an adequate margin of safety, especially for children, the elderly and other sensitive individuals. By disregarding scientific warnings about the risks of high smog levels, the EPA is creating an ozone standard that is vulnerable to legal challenges from conservationists and public-health advocates.

“Smog threatens public health, but it also stunts forest growth, damages crops, obscures visibility in our national parks, and makes a dangerous contribution to climate change. The Obama administration’s standard just isn’t strong enough to protect either our lungs or our natural environment.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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