The Appalachian
Mountain Club (AMC) welcomes a Nov. 26 proposal by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) to reduce ozone-laden smog pollution by strengthening federal
air-quality standards, according to AMC Staff Scientist Georgia Murray.
“AMC has monitored rural ozone
pollution in New Hampshire since the 1980s, and its impacts on the lungs of people
who engage in outdoor recreation,” Murray said.
“AMC’s collaborative research on hikers’ lung response to ozone
pollution in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with the Harvard School of
Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and hundreds of other scientific
studies, show that ozone air pollution is detrimental to human health and
well-being. AMC is encouraged by EPA’s proposed plan to strengthen the ozone
public health standard. However, we believe
that according to the science, too much risk has been left on the table.”