06.18.12 09:01 PM
The Administration of Barack Obama is proposing tighter restrictions on soot. The current standard for factories is 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air. But Democrats believe it is “an absolute necessity” to tighten the standard to 13 micrograms per cubic meter of air.
“Clean air is not a luxury,” said New York Attorney General Eric Scheiderman. “It is a basic public right, and standards that protect it are an absolute necessity.”
Democrats believe the excess soot will cause further harm to the economy, but Republicans think just the opposite, arguing that strict standards make it more difficult for industries to profit.
“By continuing to implement the existing standards we would avoid the potentially heavy added economic costs of more stringent standards, which our economy and American workers cannot afford,” said American Petroleum Institute spokesman Howard Feldman.
“It may not sound like much — lowering the standard from 15 to 13 — but it will mean a lot more regulations in many parts of the country,” added Jeff Holmsted, the Environmental Protection Agency’s top air regulator under George W. Bush’s Presidency. “This won’t be good news for places trying to attract new manufacturing jobs.”
The announcement comes three days after the World Health Organization declared war against diesel fumes. Kurt Straif, director of the WHO, said the emissions are carcinogenic and as harmful as secondhand smoke.
http://personalliberty.com/2012/06/1...tions-on-soot/ 
