The EPA has made a major step forward in public health protection, and it is predicted that 125 million Americans, including 35 million children will benefit. EPA's Administrator Carol Browner approved the final air quality standards on Wednesday, July 16, 1997. According to the Clean Air Act, the EPA is to review public health standards for six major air pollutants every five years, update standards to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety, and consider only the public health, and not cost of compliance, when setting air quality standards.
Cost savings are to be considered during the implementation phase.
In the cases of ozone and particulate matter, EPA seems to have accomplished these goals. Several environmental organizations, such as Sierra Club and US Public Interest Research Group, and the American Lung Association, expressed approval and support of the new standards. EPA officials state they received 57,000 comments at public hearings to establish the ozone final standard and over 50,000 comments for the particulate matter standard. The EPA says the new standard will provide more public health protection. Therefore, smaller particles, which tend to be more dangerous because they are more easily inhaled into the lungs, will be regulated.