Officials from 13 states, the District of Columbia, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District filed a lawsuit Monday against the US Environmental Protection Agency "for failing to mandate lower levels of disease-causing soot in the air."
More than a dozen states sued the EPA to lower soot levels from smokestacks and exhaust pipes, a move the state officials argue would save thousands of lives.
The lawsuit alleges that the EPA is failing to protect the environment and the public health by ignoring "overwhelming scientific evidence and the advice of its own experts" when setting standards for particulate matter and that the EPA is in violation of the Clean Air Act.
The "fine particulate matter" in soot contributes to premature death, chronic respiratory disease and asthma attacks, said New York Attorney General and governor-elect Eliot Spitzer. The pollution also leads to more hospital admissions and other public health costs, he said.
The states participating in the lawsuit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
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