I am writing to Granite Staters and to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because before I moved to New Hampshire in 2005, I lived in Los Angeles for six years. While there I developed severe asthmatic bronchitis that required multiple medications to treat and I still became very sick many times per year. I suspected it was not unrelated to the black soot that accumulated on my car’s windshield, and my windowsills every day. I thought this was my new normal for the rest of my life. Amazingly, after I moved to New Hampshire, I never had an episode of bronchitis again, and have been weaned off all medications for 16 years. That is an example of how badly soot in the air can impact lives.

Right now the EPA is in the process of updating its standards for soot pollution limits. Citizens can weigh in on this until Tuesday, March 28. We need to tell the EPA to strengthen soot pollution limits as much as possible. I will give you technical advice the scientists say we should ask for in order for people to be healthy: Primary health based annual soot limits should be 8ug/m3 and primary 24 hour daily limits should be 25 ug/m3. Granite Staters are not immune to this problem. I live in a rural area, but those next to heavily polluting facilities and high traffic roadways are at risk. Please, take action and tell the EPA to strengthen soot standards as indicated above.

Karen Campbell

Epsom

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