Now Available: Draft Supplement to the 2019 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (PM ISA Supplement)
This original announcement was published by the EPA on September 30, 2021. Click here for more information!
Notice: EPA’s Health and Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA) National Research Program is announcing for public comment and external peer review the release of the draft Supplement to the 2019 Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (PM). The HERA research program has been designed to develop and apply state-of-the-science research to characterize impacts on human and ecological systems – whether they result from exposure to single, complex, or multiple physical, chemical, or biological stressors – to support and improve EPA’s risk assessment and risk management decisions. Integrated Science Assessments (ISAs) fall under HERA’s Science Assessment Development Research Area which is focused on producing high quality, transparent, consistent, and scientifically-defensible assessment products to meet EPA’s diverse statutory and policy needs.
This draft Supplement represents a targeted evaluation of recent studies published since the literature cutoff date for the 2019 PM ISA. The 2019 PM ISA and this Supplement form the complete scientific record for the ongoing reconsideration of the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM. The 2019 PM ISA and Supplement, in conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, will inform EPA’s decisions on the reconsideration of the current NAAQS and the appropriateness of possible alternative standards.
The draft assessment is available for a 60-day public comment period, which ends on November 29, 2021. Written comments should be submitted to EPA-HQ-ORD-2014-0859 via Regulations.gov. Comments submitted to EPA, via the public docket, will be provided to the external peer review panel. The date and location of a public meeting for the external peer review panel will be specified in a separate Federal Register notice.
For more information on the PM ISA Supplement, including how to submit comments, please visit the Federal Register or the EPA ISA website. For more information on HERA, please see the program’s Strategic Research Action Plan.