EPA proposes new auto pollution standards

New standards for cleaner fuel and vehicles proposed last week will reduce air pollution and help prevent thousands of deaths and hospitalizations each year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says.  The EPA’s proposals to slash emissions of harmful pollutants include reducing smog-forming volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides by 80 percent, reducing fuel vapor emissions to near zero and cutting vehicle emissions of toxic air pollutants by up to 40 percent. By 2030, the new regulations will help prevent up to 2,400 premature deaths, 23,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children, and 3,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency room visits a year, the EPA estimates.