First, I want to say very clearly and strongly that EPA clean air standards must continue to be based on science and health concerns. The EPA proposal before us is based on the best available science regarding the health effects of exposure to ozone and particulate matter. Some argue that we should not set a new standard until we have scientific proof of the exact relationship between exposures to ozone and particulate matter, and health effects. We must continue medical research to improve our understanding. We clearly need more monitoring data on particulate matter.
Young children constitute the largest group at high risk from exposure to air pollutants.
In California alone there are over six million children under the age of fourteen and approximately ninety percent of them live in areas that fail to meet state and federal standards. The second point I want to make, is the importance of taking costs into account once the health-based standards are set. Costs should and will play a key role in how the standard will be implemented and how long states will have to comply. In Califorina, the South Coast Air Quality Management District is responsible for cleaning up the L.A. basin, which has the most polluted air in the country. The South Coast Air District faces some of the most intractable and complex air pollution problems, in an area where nearly every possible source is already regulated.