PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 21, 2020
Fine-particle air pollution, or soot, has been linked to heart and respiratory disease, stroke, lung cancer, even dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been shown to have an impact on learning in children, even causing developmental delays. Research has found an association between exposure to air pollution and mortality from COVID-19. In the United States, air quality improved steadily for years, with pollution reaching a two-decade low in 2016. However, air pollution worsened in 2017 and 2018, leading to thousands of additional deaths. Experts say the rise in pollution can be attributed to lax enforcement of the Clean Air Act. We shouldn’t allow harmful levels of particulate into the air, and we certainly shouldn’t force the most vulnerable Americans to bear its harmful effects.