Panel: Smog tied to premature deaths

Last update: April 22, 2008 - 8:38 PM

Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded Tuesday.

The 13-member panel examined short-term exposure -- up to 24 hours -- to high levels of ozone, but said more studies also were needed on long-term chronic exposure where the risk of premature death "may be larger than those observed in acute effects studies alone."

It contradicts arguments made by the White House Office of Management and Budget that such a connection has not been shown sufficiently.

NEW CARS SHOULD GET 31.6 MPG BY 2015

The nation's fleet of new cars and trucks will be required to achieve 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015, the Bush administration said.

The plan responds to a new energy law that requires that new vehicles, taken as a collective average, meet 35 mpg by 2020. The fleetwide average doesn't mean that all vehicles have to achieve the target efficiency -- larger vehicles will not be as efficient as smaller ones -- only that collectively, passenger vehicles average that figure.

The proposal is expected to be finalized by the end of President Bush's term.

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