Hardwood Floors June/July 2024

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NWFA

Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would tighten the final air quality standard for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), from 12 micrograms (ug) per cubic meter to a more stringent 9 ug, a level which could impose up to $900 million in compliance costs on the wood products sector. This could otherwise be addressed by forest management and an accompanying reduction in wildfires, which are the source of 43 percent of PM emissions. As a point of reference, the European Union standard is 25 ug, more than twice as high as permitted concentrations in the U.S. Lowering the standard would place 589 counties in non-attainment and hundreds more on the cusp of non-attainment. AIR QUALITY STANDARD EPA TIGHTENS

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