Testimony of 

Vinayak Jha, MD 

Before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Regarding the Proposed Power Plant Carbon Pollution Standard 

May 24,2012 

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 care physicians every year. Almost every day, I treat patients whose life 

is affected by asthma, emphysema, or chronic 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's like for one of my patients with lung disease. 

Imagine a patient referred because for several months or so, they have been short of 

breath. Things that were easy for them to do-go for a jog, or walk up a flight of stairs-are now 

difficult. After evaluating them and running tests, I determine that they have COPD, chronic 

obstructive pulmonary disease. 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 cause of death in the U.S. This patient 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, if they have not already. Flu shots and the pneumonia vaccine are 

1 http://www.cdc.gov/copd/pdfs/Framework_ for_ COPD _ Prevention.pdf 
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also important to avoid infections that may trigger breathing trouble. I also tell them to avoid 

dust, fumes, and pollution. Now, if they 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, if there 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 of all COPD patients say their condition limits their 

ability to work3 

Even for the vast majority of people who don't work outside, they are still affected by air 

pollution. Especially if they live in an area with a large number of smog or ozone 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. It increases 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 of this proposed regulation, you are incredibly important to my patients. 

You can actually take a step to reduce outdoor air pollution. 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 

2 http://www. nh I bi .nih .gov /health/health-topics/top ics/copd/ 

1 American Lung Association, COPD Fact Sheet, http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/copd/resources/factstigures/COPD-Fact-Sheet.html 
Page 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 of patients depending on you. As a physician I urge you to finalize this 

rule and develop standards for existing power plant carbon pollution. Thank you.