DENVER A new rule adopted by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission identified five "priority" air toxics that will soon be regulated. Air toxics are connected to cancer, birth defects, and other negative health impacts. The five identified within the new rule benzene, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, hexavalent chromium compounds, and hydrogen sulfide have varying sources. The commission adopted the new rule based on information provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's (CDPHE) Air Pollution Control Division. In a press release, each of the five toxic air contaminants were described as follows: Benzene: emitted during oil and gas production, fuel combustion, from gasoline stations, and from industrial activities such as waste disposal and cement manufacturing. Long-term exposure to benzene can cause cancer, blood and bone marrow disorders, and can cause reproductive impacts such as chromosomal abnormalities.  Ethylene oxide: used to sterilize medical equipment for use in hospitals and other medical settings. Long-term exposure to ethylene oxide can lead to cancer, reproductive effects, and respiratory irritation.  Formaldehyde: emitted during fuel combustion from sources such as engines, industrial boilers, and residential wood burning. It also is emitted during other industrial processes such as pulp and paper products manufacturing and surface coating. Chronic exposure to formaldehyde can cause cancer, asthma, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat.  Hexavalent chromium compounds: emitted from sources such as coal-fired power plants, glass manufacturing plants, and during the coating of metal parts. Long-term exposure to hexavalent chromium compounds can result in respiratory issues and cancer.  Hydrogen sulfide: emitted by sources such as petroleum refineries, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, asphalt manufacturing, and gas processing plants. Long-term exposure to hydrogen sulfide can lead to health impacts such as low blood pressure, headache, chronic cough, and psychological disorders. Next, CDPHE's Air Pollution Control Division will propose health-based standards for each of the toxics during a separate rulemaking expected later in 2025. A public hearing on the subject will be held in February. CDPHE's Air Pollution Control Division will also request a rulemaking hearing in 2025 with the Air Quality Control Commission for proposed emission control strategies. The new rule is a result of House Bill 22-1244, which allows the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to "adopt rules that are more stringent" than the federal Clean Air Act. For decades, people living within Denver's Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods have said air pollution has hurt their health. I worry daily for my community. If I could move my community out of this neighborhood, I would," said Carla Padilla, who grew up in Globeville. My mom died of asthma because of the pollution. My daughter got cancer because of the contaminants. It's bad.Padilla is the director of BirdSeed Collective, a nonprofit organization that supports the community in several different ways, including helping protect people from air pollution. From fans to air filters, to air purifiers, we do a lot. Tree planting twice a year," Padilla said. When we lived more recently in the neighborhood, we couldn't keep our windows open because our smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, would go off daily."With the five priority air toxics identified, Padilla is cautiously optimistic about seeing change within the community she loves. The pollution is really bad. And again, what can we do? You know, they can add the five toxins, but really, what's that going to trickle down to helping our neighborhood? said Padilla. Anything is better than nothing... We can't fight the big fights. We fight the street-level fights that we can manage.Harmony Cummings, the director of the Green House Connection Center, worked closely with Cultivando to advocate for the new rule. We really do have to consider the lived experience and the health impacts, and that's what we were really able to advocate for and elevate in this rulemaking," said Cummings. What these five air toxics do is really address health and the health of community members and what people breathe, and that gets left out of the conversation and a lot of the climate efforts.Cummings believes environmental policy at the city, state, and federal levels falls short when it comes to the problem at hand. A lot of times, there's just little to nothing being done in so many environmental spaces, and that keeps me awake at night, and also lights a fire to help keep me going because there is so much work to be done," said Cummings. As someone who worked at the State Capitol and then also worked later on in rulemakings, I can see that those things get watered down at the State Capitol, further murky in the rulemakings and then without the enforcement piece, are diluted close to nothing. I see that time and time again, and yet I still am here advocating for hope because it's all we can do.Within the new rule, Cummings finds a little bit of that hope. This was definitely a moment of hope for the community," said Cummings. I am so grateful that happened in this first stage of this rulemaking. But as we go on to the second phase, where we'd establish the health-based standards, we know that we have some tough work ahead.The Air Quality Control Commission will review the list every five years and could add more toxics in the future.