Statement of Brian Urbaszew ski 

Director, Environmental Health Programs 

Respiratory Health Association 

August 6, 2015 

RE: Regarding Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for 

Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles 

Thank you for the opportunity to make a statement today. My Name is Brian Urbaszewski, and I work 

for Respiratory Health Association. Founded in 1906 in Chicago, we work to prevent lung disease and 

promote lung health through research, advocacy, and education. 

We are thankful for the immense progress made in cleaning up diesel engines in recent years due to 

EPA's actions. Huge cuts in tailpipe pollution from new heavy-duty diesel vehicles and diesel equipment 

have been achieved, which are now delivering improved human health every year. Tailpipe derived 

PM2.5 triggers asthma attacks and heart attacks, and drives increases in emergency room visits, 

hospitalizations and premature deaths. Eliminating those emissions, as well as slashing ozone-forming 

and toxic air pollution, has reduced health risks and in fact saved lives. So, thank you on behalf of the 

over one million Illinois residents living with lung disease. 

Yet even with cleaner new engines, and our continued use of EPA and DOT funds to accelerate the 

clean-up of emissions from long-lived diesel engines that pre-date EPA' s stringent standards, new 

challenges have arisen. It's become increasingly clear that global warming is a health threat, particularly 

to people living with lung disease. Increasing heat waves put people with limited lung capacity at higher 

risk of hospitalization and death. Longer hotter summers extend the ozone smog season and increase 

the likelihood of unhealthy air days, cutting the gains we have made in reducing ozone 

precursors. More flooding means more displacement of medically vulnerable people and hinders access 

to medical care. More allergenic pollen means greater risks for those with allergy-triggered asthma, and 

misery for those with allergies like hay fever. Higher temps and greater droughts also increase the 

prevalence of wildfires, creating smoke plumes that travel hundreds of miles, polluting the air where 

millions of people live. In fact, in 2011 a wildfire on the Canadian border triggered air quality alerts here 

in Chicago. Last month, Canadian fires triggered "unhealthy" code red air quality alerts as far south as 

Missouri. The increasing effects of global warming are already having a direct impact on people's ability 

to breathe. It's putting vulnerable groups at most risk, including babies and children, senior citizens, and 

those that live with chronic lung and heart conditions. 

Every barrel of oil burned means more ca rbon dioxide in the atmosphere, further increasing global 

warming. Reducing fuel consumption through greater efficiencies and through the development of nonfossil fuel technologies that eliminate carbon emissions are needed to address these health threats. For 

these reasons, we believe strong EPA greenhouse gas tailpipe standards are necessary. While we 

strongly support the direction of proposed EPA climate rules for new trucks, we also believe the 

proposed standards should be strengthened and that EPA should increase its goal to achieve 40 percent 

fuel savings by 2025. The Agency can further increase the $37B in health and welfare benefits the 

proposed rule would bring. The ability to gain additional reductions is there. The Agency should go 

beyond its very conservative approach to capture additional fuel reductions, a strategy we believe will 

benefit public health for many years to come. Again, thank you for the time and opportunity to speak 

on this issue here today.