Momsrising.org Takes on Soot Standards – Click Here

Yesterday, the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced July was the hottest month ever recorded for the United States. If you have asthma, then you know how heat can be a major trigger for asthma attacks.  For the nearly one in 10 U.S. kids who have asthma, this has been one bummer of a summer.

While we can’t make it cooler for families across the country this summer, we are working right now to fight against another big asthma attack trigger: Soot. Breathing soot does serious damage. Studies have shown that once you breathe air with diesel soot, 50% of the soot particles – yes, half! – can stay in your lungs. These nasty soot particles can trigger asthma attacks, stunt lung development, and even cause cancer.

Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing new soot standards. Help us tell the EPA that families want the new Soot Standards as soon as possible in order to clean up our air:

action.momsrising.org/go/2088?t=4&akid=3442.206527.ukfwv-

** Make sure you sign today! The EPA is accepting public comments for only a few more weeks.

What’s the lowdown?

Soot, or fine particle pollution, comes from a variety of sources, including diesel fuel, power plants, and fires. It’s microscopic, burrowing deep in the lungs, making it extremely difficult to expel.

The EPA is proposing new soot standards that would lower the allowable amount of fine particles — soot — in the air from an annual average of 15 micrograms per cubic meter to 12 or 13 micrograms per cubic meter.

We need to push the EPA to go further. Public health advocates like the American Lung Association recommend that the EPA set standards for fine particles at the lowest end of its proposed range of options — at 11 micrograms per cubic meter, rather than at 12 or 13.

Let’s do everything we can to protect the little lungs of our kids. Ask the EPA for new Soot Standards in order to clean up our air.

Editor’s Note – Soot is also implicated in a number of studies to be a culprit in global warming – funny how all these things are related, isn’t it ? Let’s go crazy and ask for less than 10.