USA’s air quality has gotten worse
EPA disputes researchers’ finding on particulates
A new report by a nonprofit research group found air quality in the United States has worsened since 2016, even as officials in the Trump administration have claimed “the environment is getting cleaner.”
The report finds particulate pollution increased by 5.5% between 2016 and 2018 after declining by more than 24% between 2009 and 2016. The report draws on data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The findings by two Carnegie Mellon University researchers were published in October by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which describes itself as a “non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research.” It suggests three possible contributing factors: more wildfires; more economic growth, or increased industrial production; and less enforcement of federal regulations.
An EPA spokesman rejected the report’s findings and said air quality improved between 2016 and 2018. That echoes an agency report released in July, which touts declining emissions levels, including particulate levels. But the new report draws its conclusions based on measured ambient pollution levels – not on emissions reports, which are estimated in some cases, said co-author Nicholas Z. Muller, a professor of economics, engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon.
Particulates are microscopic “globs of solid or liquid” suspended in the air, said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis. He is unaffiliated with the study. They are especially bad for health and can cause heart attacks and strokes, he told USA TODAY.
Air quality standards were established in 1970 with amendments to the Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1963. The laws were further amended in 1990. The Trump administration has been critiqued repeatedly by environmental groups for weakening the Clean Air Act.