On Monday, a coalition of health and environmental organizations sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of federal standards for coal-fired power plants, which had limited mercury and other harmful air pollutants. The groups argued that the rollbacks endanger children and other vulnerable populations.
Read Also – Butterfly Network secures FDA approval for AI-powered pregnancy ultrasound tool
Here are some details:
- The coalition, comprising Earthjustice, the American Lung Association, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
- In February, the Trump administration’s EPA rolled back the 2024 update to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard issued by the Biden administration. The update would have cut allowable mercury emissions from coal plants by 70%, reduced emissions of nickel, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals by roughly two-thirds, and was projected to save $420 million in health costs through 2037, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.
- Last year, the administration also granted a two-year exemption from air quality standards for older coal-fired power plants, effectively shielding some of the largest emitters. Since the exemptions took effect, the coalition reported that national sulfur dioxide emissions have risen 18%, while neurotoxic mercury emissions increased by 9%.
- “This administration is not just rolling back rules, it is eliminating the monitoring infrastructure needed to know what is coming out of these smokestacks in the first place. It is allowing coal plants to spew out more neurotoxic mercury into our air and food supply, while simultaneously keeping the communities most at risk in the dark about how serious that threat is,” the coalition said in a statement.
