Rubber News has rounded up industry reaction to the Environmental Protection Agency’s new national air quality standard for fine particulates under the Clean Air Act, which were announced on December 14. The new standard sets the annual standard for fine particulates, including soot, to 12 micrograms per cubic meter. The existing daily standards for both fine and coarse particulates remain the same, according to the EPA.
According to Rubber News, the Rubber Manufacturers Association and other manufacturing associations are considering their options in the wake of the announcement, including a possible lawsuit.
The RMA, however, has significant concerns about the standard, according to an association spokesman. “The threshold the EPA selection was at the lower end of the expected size,” the spokesman said. “We also have a number of questions about the methodologies the EPA used to determine which counties would be non-attainment areas.”
The RMA is consulting its members on the potential effects of the new standard, after which it will formulate its response. The National Association of Manufacturers, which had championed keeping the annual standard for fine particulates at the former level of 15 micrograms per cubic meter, also has criticized the new standard.
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