Plants and businesses that spew soot will be required to comply with new regulation when they apply for new permits
Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:
The state yesterday adopted a rule that aims to keep New Jersey in compliance with an important federal air-quality standard designed to limit pollution from a contaminant linked to many respiratory ailments.
The state Department of Environmental Protection adopted the rule with only minor changes, intending to reduce emissions of fine particulate matter, or soot, a pollutant believed to cause tens of thousands of premature deaths a year.
The rule is meant to tighten control on emissions from thousands of facilities by requiring them to use the best-available pollution control technologies when seeking new permits for their plants or businesses.
For many years, New Jersey failed to achieve the health standard for the pollutant, coming into compliance with the standard four years ago.
The pollutant is made up of microscopic particles released from manufacturing smokestacks and other sources to produce a haze that lessens visibility and can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing a range of respiratory illnesses.
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