STATEMENT: Trump Administration’s Repeal of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Puts Lives at Risk

Washington, D.C. — Today, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency finalized the repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, allowing coal- and oil-burning power plants to emit more mercury, soot, lead, arsenic, and other toxic pollution. This move puts the American people at higher risk of cancer, asthma attacks, brain damage, and other life-changing health problems. In response, Cathleen Kelly, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:

The Trump administration has turned on the American people yet again with a dangerous step backwards that puts lives and public health at risk. This action will weaken safeguards that protect families and communities from mercury—a dangerous neurotoxin that damages babies’ brains—as well as other toxic pollution emitted by coal- and oil-burning power plants. This is one of many actions the Trump administration has taken to help the fossil fuel industry make even more money at the expense of kids’ and communities’ health. No one voted for more mercury and other toxic pollutants. Americans want and deserve a government that holds polluters accountable for poisoning our air, water, and food.

Additional resources: 

• How the Trump Administration’s Embrace of Oil, Gas, and Chemical Industry Interests Will Endanger Children’s Health
• The Trump Administration’s Attack on Environmental Protections Will Increase Cancer-Causing Pollution
• The Trump Administration’s Assault on Environmental Protections Will Give Polluters a Free Pass While Causing Millions of Asthma Attacks

For more information, or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].