San Diego currently meets federal standards for the smallest-particle pollution, but that may change in a couple of years as new tighter EPA standards for soot take effect.
The federal government is tightening the standards for acceptable amounts of soot pollution in the air, and San Diego County may fall short of compliance.
Soot comes from burning wood, dust, vehicle exhaust, factories and basically anything that consumes fossil fuel. The particles are the smallest airborne pollutants, which are easily inhaled.Lowering the amount of airborne soot also lowers how much money the nation spends on health care. “Because of the significant contribution they make to outdoor air pollution in this case, particle pollution, everything from furnaces to water heaters and even stoves,” said Will Barrett, a spokesman for the American Lung Association.Local regulators have time to consider how to move forward.
San Diego County Air Pollution Control District officials concede that the region will likely be out of compliance when the new standard takes effect.The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District recorded a yearly average of 11 micrograms in 2022, up from 10 micrograms the year before.If air quality officials cannot get the region in compliance by 2032, they could face severe penalties, including the loss of federal highway funding.
Also, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment finds that the highest concentration of soot in the county’s air is near the international border.The possibility that San Diego will not meet clean air rules for particulate pollution hits particularly hard in communities along the border and near the working waterfront.“Not being in attainment is heartbreaking because we know what that means for our communities,” said Nicholas Paul, of the Environmental Health Coalition.
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