New air pollution rules rankle health groups - Yahoo! News

New air pollution rules rankle health groups - Yahoo! News: "EPA's decision to keep annual standards for soot particles at the same levels they have been since 1997 -- 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air -- drew the ire of environmentalists, who had sought to have these strengthened.

'TRULY BREATH-TAKING'

'EPA's action is truly breath-taking in ignoring the dangerous impact of particulate pollution on Americans' hearts and lungs,' Dr. John Balbus, health program director of the group Environmental Defense, said in a statement.

'By ignoring medical science, EPA is fundamentally failing to protect Americans from the serious death and disease associated with particulate pollution,' Balbus said.

Dozens of health groups -- including the American Medical Association, American Lung Association,
American Heart Association,
American Cancer Society and American Academy of Pediatrics -- had urged the agency to set tougher standards for short-term and long-term exposure to particle pollution.

Particle pollution comes from vehicle tailpipes and factory smokestacks, and can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death from various heart and lung ailments."