Washington DC - The Environmental Protection Agency plans on only considering the industrial cost of air pollution, not the human cost, when setting environmental policy.
Under President Donald Trump, the EPA plans on abandoning attempts to calculate the human cost and dangers associated with air pollution when introducing new regulations, the New York Times reports.
The costs associated with asthma attacks and premature deaths have long been considered by the EPA when introducing measures to curb deadly air pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone.
Documents reviewed by the NYT reveal that changes will make it only necessary for the EPA to review the impact of regulation on industry, rather than on human health.
Introduced under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, new rules will make it easier to repeal air pollution limits, allowing high-polluting industries to operate with less oversight.
The fear is that polluting companies will be able to cut costs while pumping out higher quantities of dangerous gas.
Exposure to PM2.5 and ozone has been linked to asthma, as well as both heart and lung disease.
EPA says health effects will not factor into monetary cost-benefit analysis
When approached by the NYT, an EPA spokesperson said that the health effects of air pollution would still be considered, but will no longer be a factor in any monetary cost-benefit analysis conducted by the agency.
"The idea that EPA would not consider the public health benefits of its regulations is anathema to the very mission of EPA," said Richard Revesz, who led the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the Biden administration.
"If you're only considering the costs to industry and you're ignoring the benefits, then you can't justify any regulations that protect public health, which is the very reason that EPA was set up," Revesz told the NYT.