By Janet Raloff
In a major setback for polluters, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the Environmental Protection Agency can implement tougher controls on tiny airborne particulates that can get deep inside people’s lungs. The court also temporarily quashed EPA’s ability to strengthen its limits on smog’s ozone.
Four years ago, EPA proposed substantially tighter limits on outdoor concentrations of both pollutants (SN: 12/21&28/96, p. 410). However, before the agency could implement the new rules, it was sued by several industries that would be affected by them.