New Mexico Environment Secretary Ron Curry has accused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of bowing to industry pressure in establishing a new ozone standard for the nation.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that the air in hundreds of U.S. counties is too dirty to breathe, and it was tightening the amount of ozone — commonly known as smog — that will be allowed in the air.

The new standard will lower the allowable concentration of ozone in the air to no more than 75 parts per billion compared to the old standard of 80.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson called the new requirements "the most stringent standards ever." But the lower standard still falls short of what most health experts say is needed to significantly reduce heart and asthma attacks from breathing smog-clogged air.

Curry said Wednesday the Bush administration values politics above people's health.

"The EPA's own scientific experts were recommending a standard as low as 60 parts per billion for ozone," he said. "Bowing to industry pressure and going with a higher 75 ppb standard will potentially mean thousands more heart attacks, hospital visits and asthma attacks for Americans annually — especially for children."

The secretary also vowed New Mexico will fight for "more sensible standards" to keep its air clean.

Curry and others also criticized the EPA's plan to "modernize" the Clean Air Act.

Currently, the act requires health standards for ozone and a handful of other air pollutants not take costs into account. Johnson said the Bush administration plans to propose legislation to overhaul the law so in the future costs can be considered when setting health standards.

Randall Coleman of Albuquerque-based Environment New Mexico said setting air quality standards should be a matter of science. "These changes would strike at the heart of the Clean Air Act and take us back decades in protecting Americans from air pollution," he said.