WASHINGTON POST • April 14, 2020
The Trump administration opted Tuesday not to set stricter national air quality standards despite a growing body of scientific evidence linking air pollution to lethal outcomes from respiratory diseases such as covid-19. The Environmental Protection Agency’s staff scientists recommended lowering the annual particulate matter standard to between 8 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter in a draft report last year, citing estimates that reducing the limit to 9 could save roughly 12,200 lives a year.