Cleaner air helps everyone. It helps black communities a lot.

A new study has quantified the benefits of pollution reduction in terms of race and class.

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering new standards for the maximum amount of fine particles, tiny dots about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair that can enter the lungs, in outdoor air. A recent study examined how the benefits of stricter limits would be distributed across American society.

What's new in this research

The implementation of stricter limits on fine particles could reduce death rates by up to 7% for black and low-income Americans over 65 who are already exposed to some of the dirtiest air in the United States, the study finds , led by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

There is already overwhelming evidence that people of color, and black communities in particular, are at risk disproportionately to harmful air pollutants like the fine particulate matter examined in the study, known as PM 2.5 because it measures no more than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.

The new research, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that tightening the fine particle limit to 4 micrograms per cubic meter of air would lead to a 4% reduction in the death rate of high-income white adults. The same change would result in a 6% to 7% reduction for high-income black adults, low-income white adults, and low-income black adults.

" We need to look at the intersection of race and socioeconomic status to really understand how structural racism, differences in health care access and economic disparities play a role,” said Francesca Dominici, professor of biostatistics. at Harvard and lead author of the study. /p>Why it matters

The new research could inform a crucial decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to tighten the limits on fine particulates, including soot, which can come from construction sites, smokestacks, diesel trucks, power plants and other industrial activities.Smoke from wildfires is also a major source of particulate pollution. s.

In January, the E.P.A. proposed a draft rule that would tighten the limits on fine particles from the current standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter to between 9 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The administration has estimated that the guidelines could prevent up to 4,200 premature deaths each year.

However, some environmental justice advocates have said the rule should still reinforce the standard. to protect the most vulnerable communities. The results of the new research reveal that there are potentially "real and significant differences" between setting the limit at 10 micrograms versus a stricter limit of 8 micrograms, said Scott Delaney, study author and epidemiologist at Harvard.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">There are probably tens of millions of Americans living in communities with PM 2.5 levels between 8 and 10 micrograms per meter cube, said Joshua Apte, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who did not work on the study. "These people could be left behind by the new standard."

The new rule, which will likely be finalized later this year after a public comment period, is a central component of the Biden administration's effort to address environmental justice, Michael Regan, the E.P.A. admin, said.

Understanding the biggest...