Dismantling Clean Air Laws Would Be A Threat To Public Health

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Main Category: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 01 Nov 2011 - 11:00 PDT


Experts warn in a "Current Issues" article published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that efforts to dismantle clean air laws by some in Congress are a threat to public health. The study was carried out by researchers from American College of Preventive Medicine and Drexel University School of Public Health.

Authors Joshua Lipsman, MD, JD, MPH, and Arthur L. Frank, MD, PhD, said:

"It is well accepted that air pollution has a deleterious impact on personal and public health.

Since control and reduction of air pollution are subject to federal regulation, physicians, as advocates for patients, must help educate the Congress on its critical role in preventing the health effects of air pollution. This is particularly important given that Congress is currently debating whether to dismantle existing laws that protect the air we breathe, especially the Clean Air Act (CAA), a cornerstone of environmental health law."

According to The Clean Air Act the federal government is authorized to reduce airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. In 1970 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was given responsibility for the CAA and since then, numerous amendments have been passed, all with strong bipartisan support, to progress with the growing evidence base directly linking air quality to health.

In 2007, the Supreme Court stated the CAA could be used to fight global warning. In 2009, the EPA said that the public welfare and health are threatened by climate changes caused by industrial pollution, vehicles and others sources that are burning fossil fuels, a statement which made the EPA one of the biggest targets of the anti-regulatory agenda in Washington.

Dr. Lipsman said:

"Unfortunately, a faction in Congress is working to soften regulations on environmental polluters, which consequently will greatly weaken the health protective impacts of the CAA. Several bills have been introduced in the 112th Congress to delay or remove the authority of the EPA to regulate pollutants such as carbon dioxide and others, which researchers have found contribute to the greenhouse effect in the Earth's atmosphere."

The authors urge all concerned physicians to write, call or e-mail Congress and demand they strengthen and not weaken existing air pollution laws and recommend working with advocacy groups in this effort.

They write:

"Professional societies such as the American College of Preventive Medicine and the American Thoracic Society seek physicians to become involved in their advocacy efforts. For the sake of patients and the health of the American public, we urge Congress to preserve the authority of the EPA under the CAA."

Written by: Petra Rattue

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