SAN DIEGO — Federal authorities are weighing a move to strengthen current air quality standards for air pollution commonly known as 'soot'.
These particles, generated by vehicles and industrial facilities, can have serious health consequences, impacting poor and minority communities particularly hard.
The Environmental Protection Agency last updated these specific air quality regulations in 2012. If these rules are tightened even further, federal officials estimate that more than 4,000 premature deaths could be prevented every year.
"It is affecting people of color and the poor even more: that's not right!" said La Mesa City Council Member Jack Shu, who is also a board member of the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.
He said that the fine particulate pollution that this federal proposal is examining, known as PM2.5, causes illness.
"It causes asthma, cancer," he added. "It is important that we we get a handle on it."
This pollution also disproportionately impacts certain communities in San Diego County more than others, including Barrio Logan, San Ysidro, National City and parts of La Mesa.
We have communities with asthma rates three, four times that of other communities," Shu told CBS 8. "That is not right, that is not equitable. We need to work toward equity."
The current federal standard for this particulate pollution is 12 micrograms per cubic meter.
The EPA is now considering lowering that to 9 or 10, which could have a dramatic impact on the health of local communities.
"The estimates are really significant," said Paula Forbis, who is air pollution control officer for San Diego County.
"The tightening of the standard would absolutely save lives," she added, "and it would also reduce health care costs and provide a lot of other economic benefits that we may not be thinking about."
According to estimates provided by the EPA, lowering the standard to 9 micrograms per cubic meter would save up to 4,200 lives a year; prevent 270,000 lost work days annually; and result in as much as $43 billion in net health benefits in 2032.
If a new standard is ultimately adopted, San Diego, as well as all cities and counties nationwide, would have to demonstrate it is in compliance.
Many communities which could be impacted are here in California.
"We have a lot of work cut out for us," Forbis told CBS 8, "but we're confident if we are found to be not in attainment of that standard, we could develop a plan to show attainment."
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