URGENT UPDATE: A coalition of 31 Democratic senators has launched an immediate investigation into a controversial policy by the Trump administration that allegedly allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ignore the health impacts of air pollution. This development raises serious concerns over public health as the EPA is reportedly set to cease assessing the financial benefits of reducing harmful pollutants like PM2.5 and ozone.
Just revealed in reports from the New York Times, this policy shift aims to prioritize industry costs over the quantifiable health benefits of cleaner air. On December 11, 2023, the Times reported that the EPA claims the benefits of limiting emissions are “uncertain,” despite evidence to the contrary. An internal email from an EPA supervisor stated, “The EPA is no longer monetizing benefits from PM2.5 and ozone,” a move the senators have condemned as “irrational.”
In a letter addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the senators argue that even if health benefits are uncertain, they are certainly not nonexistent. “It will lead to perverse outcomes in which the EPA will reject actions that would impose relatively minor costs on polluting industries while resulting in massive benefits to public health—including saved lives,” they wrote.
This policy change could have dire consequences. Research published in 2023 in the journal Science found that PM2.5 pollution from coal-fired power plants has been linked to approximately 460,000 deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2020—more than double the fatalities from other sources of fine particulate emissions. The senators highlighted that by disregarding health impacts, the EPA risks costing Americans between $22 billion and $46 billion in avoided illnesses and premature deaths by the year 2032.
They emphasized that the total compliance cost for industries under this new policy is projected to be a mere $590 million, a fraction of the estimated health benefits lost. This stark contrast raises alarms about the true intentions of the EPA under the current administration, with the senators asserting that the plan undermines the intent of the Clean Air Act.
The letter also calls for full transparency, demanding all documents related to the decision, including communications with industry representatives. “The EPA may no longer monetize health benefits when setting new clean air standards, but this does not mean those benefits don’t exist. It means they will ignore them in favor of protecting corporate interests,” the senators declared.
As this investigation unfolds, the implications for public health and environmental policy could be substantial. The senators’ concerns reflect a growing urgency among lawmakers to safeguard health regulations in the face of corporate pressure.
Stay tuned as this story develops and further details emerge from the Senate’s investigation into the EPA’s controversial new approach to air quality regulations.
