The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must soon update national health standards for fine particulate matter air pollution, commonly referred to as soot ash — a major cause of premature death and a widespread threat to those who suffer from lung and heart disease.

Soot is released from the nation’s hundreds of coal- and oil-fired power plants every day. According to the EPA, soot causes early death, asthma, heart attacks, stroke, heart disease, and may cause cancer and developmental and reproductive harm.

Currently, the EPA limits soot emissions to 15 micrograms per cubic meter annually. However, these limits are not strong enough to protect American families from the harmful effects of soot emissions in the air we breathe every day.

The EPA is required by the Clean Air Act to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety. To do so, the agency should strengthen the national standard for fine particulate matter to an annual standard of 11 micrograms per cubic meter. This standard could prevent as many as 35,700 premature deaths every year, significantly more than any of the standards that the EPA is currently considering.

This high standard for soot emissions will also prevent illness, tens of thousands of hospital visits and millions of days of lost productivity, while providing up to $281 billion annually in benefits associated with reducing premature death and disease.

I urge the EPA to implement the strongest possible limits on emissions of fine particulate matter.

Stephen Drane, Auburn