EPA is never satisfied

OPINION:

After I read “EPA air proposal cuts too fast, threatens local economies” (web, June 5), I decided to do a little research.

I have concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency is insane, or at least made up of crazy people. They will never be satisfied when it comes to a “safe” limit for any kind of pollution.

Whenever we meet what is considered an acceptable level, the EPA just lowers the threshold again, saying it’s still not safe enough. To do otherwise would put the EPA out of business. Then again, maybe it is time for the EPA to be shut down. 

Among the different types of air pollution, PM 2.5 kills the most people worldwide. It consists of particles smaller than approximately 2.5 microns — so small that billions can fit inside a single red blood cell. It is responsible for an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths every year worldwide. This includes over a million deaths in China, over half a million in India, almost 200,000 in Europe and over 50,000 in the U.S.  

While the EPA marks the upper limit for “good” air quality at 12 µg/m3 over 24 hours, the agency also claims there is no safe level of air- pollution exposure. Since 2008, however, air quality across the U.S. has been well below the 12 µg/m3 level — on average, between 6 µg/m3 and 9 µg/m3.

Meanwhile, according to the Chinese government, China’s average density of PM 2.5 particulate matter in its 339 major cities stood at 55 µg/m3 in January. There are many days on which it exceeds 150 µg/m3. Since pollution knows no boundaries, a good amount of China’s pollution is blown, along with balloons, to the U.S.

Does the EPA even consider that?

Cmdr. WAYNE L. JOHNSON

Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Navy (retired)

Alexandria, Virginia