### Testimony of VinayakJha, MD Before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regarding the Proposed PowerPlant Carbon Pollution Standard May24,2012 Washington, DC My name is Dr. Vinayak Jha. I practice pulmonary and critical care medicine along with my colleagues at The George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates. I am also privileged to direct the pulmonary fellowship program at GW, and thereby help to train two new lung doctors and critical carephysicians every year. Almost every day, Itreatpatients whose life is affectedby asthma, emphysema, orchronic bronchitis. I am here to support EPA limits on power plant carbon pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and I have similar goals: we both want to help people breathe easier. Allow me to share with you what it'slike for one ofmy patients with lung disease. Imagine a patient referred because for several months or so, they have been short of breath. Thingsthatwere easy forthem to do-gofor ajog, orwalk up a flight ofstairs-arenow difficult. After evaluating them and running tests, I determine that they have COPD, chronic obstructivepulmonarydisease. Although there is treatment, the damage is permanent; and, there is no cure. This news can be sobering, and even more so when one realizes that COPD is a leading causeofdeath in the U.S. Thispatient is not alone: approximately 12 million Americans also have this disease. 1 Fortunately, in addition to medications there are some ways to manage their COPD. I counsel them to quit smoking, ifthey have not already. Flu shots and the pneumoniavaccine are

1http://www.cdc.gov/copd/pdfs/Framework_for_COPD
_Prevention.pdfPage 2 of3 also important to avoid infections that may trigger breathing trouble. I also tell them to avoid dust, fumes, and pollution. Now, ifthey are someone who works outdoors, that may turn out to be really hard to do. My patient may simply not be able to report to work some days, ifthere is heavy pollution on that day. Whether an outdoor worker or not, COPD is a major cause of disability in the United States,2 and half ofall COPD patients say their condition limits their abilityto work3 Even for the vast majority ofpeople who don't work outside, they are still affectedby air pollution. Especially ifthey live in an areawith a large number ofsmog orozone alert days. As you know, ozone smog forms when pollution, reacts with heat. Carbon pollution contributes to warmer temperatures, creating conditions for smog formation. Even in healthy people, ozone smog can make breathing uncomfortable. For people with asthma, it can cause irritation and
worsen asthma attacks. Itincreases the complications for people with lung diseases. For patients with COPD and other respiratory illnesses, these ozone alert days make it hard to leave the house. Even when there are no "red alert" ozone days, outdoor air pollution will make breathing
more difficult. In your review ofthis proposed regulation, you are incredibly important to my patients. You can actually take a step to reduce outdoorairpollution. You can set standards to limit power plant carbon pollution. As someone devoted to improving people's respiratory health, I am here to commend your efforts to reduce carbon pollution. I'm also here to ask for more. The rule that the EPA has proposed does not address carbon pollution from existing power plants, only new ones. There are almost six thousand power plants in existence today, and there is not an indication that they will comply with the standard for new power plants. For these standards to

2http://www.nhI bi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/copd/ 1 American Lung Association, COPD Fact Sheet, http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/copd/resources/factstigures/COPD-Fact-Sheet.htmlPage 3 of3 have the greatest effect, the EPA must develop a standard for all power plants, not only ones built in the future. There are millions ofpatients depending on you. As aphysician Iurge you to finalize this rule anddevelop standardsfor existingpowerplantcarbonpollution. Thank you.