"After two days of deliberations, an unofficial panel of air quality experts has tentatively concluded that EPA's fine particulate matter standards need significant tightening.
Though agency leaders may not pay heed to their findings, the panel members are optimistic that federal judges will listen.
What is dubbed the Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel will likely recommend that the primary annual standard for exposure to fine particulates be cut from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to somewhere between 8 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air, Chris Frey, the group's chairman, said in an interview late Friday.
Along the same lines, the panel is 'provisionally' looking at a recommendation that the 24-hour standard be cut from 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air to a range between 25 and 30, Frey said."
