Trump EPA Rolls Back Life-Saving Limits on Fine Particulates
The Trump EPA last week asked a federal court to throw out the agency’s own tougher standards limiting deadly air pollution from fine particulates – soot – a sellout to polluters that will cost many human lives if approved.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attorneys asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate the tougher standard approved just last year by EPA under the Biden Administration. That stronger standard is projected to save thousands of lives by tightening the exposure limit on a pollutant tied to higher risk of strokes, lung cancer and other cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In a complete reversal of its previous position, and without new studies to support its changed conclusions, EPA echoed the arguments of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other polluter apologists in faulting the Biden administration for allegedly taking a “regulatory shortcut” by adopting the stricter annual standard for soot without first conducting the “thorough review” required by the Clean Air Act.
The EPA’s changed position is transparently attributable to the politics of the new Trump Administration, since as recently as last December the EPA continued to vigorously defend the thoroughness of the studies justifying the tougher standard.
The Cost of Vacating These Limits
The Biden EPA rule set maximum levels of 9 micrograms of fine particle pollution per cubic meter of air, down from 12 micrograms established under former President Barack Obama. The rule sets an air quality level that states and counties must achieve in the coming years to reduce pollution from power plants, vehicles, and industrial sites. The tiny particles in soot lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing damage to the lungs and heart.
“The public health and economic benefits of the current standard are tangible,” said Hayden Hashimoto, attorney at the Clean Air Task Force. “By EPA’s own estimate, the current [limits on fine particulates] would avoid 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms, 2,000 hospital visits, and 4,500 premature deaths – adding up to $46 billion in health benefits in 2032. An abundance of scientific evidence shows going back to the previous standard would fail to provide the level of protection for public health required under the Clean Air Act.”
“Walking away from these clean air standards doesn’t power anything but disease,” said Patrice Simms, vice president of Healthy Communities at Earthjustice. “Trump has made it clear that his agenda is all about saving corporations money, and this administration’s EPA has nothing to do with protecting people’s health, saving lives, or serving children, families, or communities. We will continue to defend this life-saving standard.”
