PHOENIX — A new crackdown on fine particulate matter pollution could mean stricter no-burn rules in Maricopa County if numbers don't change.
Soot and smoke in the air, known as PM2.5, can cause serious health problems.
Hazel Chandler has dealt with asthma her whole life. She said a severe coughing attack after Independence Day a few years ago led to broken vertebrae in her spine.
“I coughed so hard, and nothing would touch it,” Chandler said. “The medical doctors couldn’t find any reason for it. They told me it was the air pollution that I was having problems breathing.”
This week, the EPA strengthened standards for air pollution, lowering the acceptable threshold of PM2.5 from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9.
Chandler, also an advocate with Moms Clean Air Force, called the new rule a win for everyone.
“We owe to our children clean air, clean water, and a livable future,” Chandler said.
EPA data shows Maricopa County meets the old standard, but not the new.
Maricopa County Air Quality spokesperson Ari Halpert said residential wood burning is the number one cause of fine particulate matter pollution in the county.
Halpert said the smoke lingers for longer in the winter.
“There is a type of lid that is created over the Valley. This traps air pollutants and they may remain there for days or even weeks, even after all the woodburning and the fireworks,” Halpert said.
If the county doesn’t meet the tighter pollution standard in the next report at the end of this year, local officials will need to identify high-pollution areas and put together an action plan for the EPA on how they will meet the standard by 2032.
“The Maricopa Air Quality department may need to implement stricter rules for woodburning residences on no-burn days,” Halpert said.
Hilda Berganza, climate manager for the Hispanic Access Foundation, said the soot pollution disproportionately affects Latinos, who are twice as likely to go to the hospital for asthma.
“The Latino population primarily works and lives and plays by many of the sources that produce these pollutants, the soot pollution,” Berganza said. “Soot threatens our health and environment for all communities.”
The EPA estimates the stronger standard will save 4,500 lives in the next eight years nationwide.
