{"id":3225,"date":"2026-02-20T20:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225"},"modified":"2026-02-20T20:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:00:12","slug":"donald-trump-to-pollute-tennessee-air-with-more-mercury-arsenic-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Today, Donald Trump\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency dismantled a bedrock environmental and public health standard that protects Americans from mercury and other dangerous toxic air pollutants, such as arsenic, lead, and chromium. Rolling back the new and more protective Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to emit more damaging pollution that puts the public at greater risk of heart and lung disease, cancer, and even premature death, as well as causing severe neurological damage to fetuses and children.<\/p>\n

According to the Sierra Club\u2019s Trump Coal Pollution Dashboard, reversing the 2024 improvements and reverting to the 2012 standards will allow the dirtiest coal-fired power plants to emit 50 percent more mercury pollution. In May 2025, the Trump administration exempted<\/a> 68 power plants\u2014including some of the biggest polluters in the nation\u2014from MATS after soliciting exemption requests from big polluters over email. <\/p>\n

The Sierra Club sued<\/a> the administration for these unlawful exemptions. <\/p>\n

In response, Sierra Club Campaign Organizing Strategist Bonnie Swinford issued the following statement:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese protections from mercury and other toxic pollution existed to protect communities from reckless polluters. By repealing these protections, the Trump Administration is giving handouts to the coal industry elites\u2013 and waging war on the public\u2019s ability to hold polluters accountable. We deserve protection from dirty and expensive plants like Kingston and Cumberland coal plants. We cannot allow the Trump Administration and utilities like TVA to run these coal plants with no input from everyday people. We must fight to keep the public in public power.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Director Laurie Williams issued the following statement: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s senseless decision to repeal the mercury standards is a direct attack on the health of Americans. For years, these lifesaving protections have slashed the amount of toxic pollution coal plants dump in our air and water, keeping millions of Americans safe from heart attacks, asthma and premature deaths, and protecting our babies from permanent neurological damage. Now, the president that promised to make Americans healthy again is deliberately weakening those safeguards, and families will suffer preventable illnesses simply because he wants to give the coal industry another handout. <\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans deserve public health standards that are designed to protect people, not pad the profits of a polluting industry that can\u2019t compete with cheaper, reliable, renewable energy. But Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin have made their choice: help their buddies in the coal industry cut corners rather than prioritize the health and safety of our communities. The Sierra Club will fight this decision with everything we have to defend our communities from this dangerous and deadly rollback.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Donald Trump\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency dismantled a bedrock environmental and public health standard that protects Americans from mercury and other dangerous toxic air pollutants, such as arsenic, lead, and chromium. Rolling back the new and more protective Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to emit more damaging pollution […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[742],"class_list":["post-3225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ciencia-y-tecnologia","tag-vr-news-net"],"yoast_head":"\nDonald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead - VR-NEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead - VR-NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today, Donald Trump\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency dismantled a bedrock environmental and public health standard that protects Americans from mercury and other dangerous toxic air pollutants, such as arsenic, lead, and chromium. Rolling back the new and more protective Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to emit more damaging pollution […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VR-NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-21T01:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/person\/98de0aa478d1264be46280c37718784f\"},\"headline\":\"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-21T01:00:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\"},\"wordCount\":447,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"vr-news.net\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\",\"name\":\"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead - VR-NEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-21T01:00:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/\",\"name\":\"VR-NEWS\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#organization\",\"name\":\"VR-NEWS\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/assets_task_01jxkefjetf90af0n81erwh2t3_1749778240_img_1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/assets_task_01jxkefjetf90af0n81erwh2t3_1749778240_img_1.jpg\",\"width\":1021,\"height\":490,\"caption\":\"VR-NEWS\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/person\/98de0aa478d1264be46280c37718784f\",\"name\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24728fdbc7a45c7e15a9101efdaa3090dd1a88b0377d11e53edcf178c7abe385?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24728fdbc7a45c7e15a9101efdaa3090dd1a88b0377d11e53edcf178c7abe385?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?author=9\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead - VR-NEWS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead - VR-NEWS","og_description":"Today, Donald Trump\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency dismantled a bedrock environmental and public health standard that protects Americans from mercury and other dangerous toxic air pollutants, such as arsenic, lead, and chromium. Rolling back the new and more protective Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to emit more damaging pollution […]","og_url":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225","og_site_name":"VR-NEWS","article_published_time":"2026-02-21T01:00:12+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225"},"author":{"name":"","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/person\/98de0aa478d1264be46280c37718784f"},"headline":"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead","datePublished":"2026-02-21T01:00:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225"},"wordCount":447,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#organization"},"keywords":["vr-news.net"],"articleSection":["ciencia y Tecnolog\u00eda"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225","url":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225","name":"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead - VR-NEWS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-21T01:00:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3225#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Donald Trump to Pollute Tennessee Air with More Mercury, Arsenic, Lead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/","name":"VR-NEWS","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#organization","name":"VR-NEWS","url":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/assets_task_01jxkefjetf90af0n81erwh2t3_1749778240_img_1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/assets_task_01jxkefjetf90af0n81erwh2t3_1749778240_img_1.jpg","width":1021,"height":490,"caption":"VR-NEWS"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/person\/98de0aa478d1264be46280c37718784f","name":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24728fdbc7a45c7e15a9101efdaa3090dd1a88b0377d11e53edcf178c7abe385?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/24728fdbc7a45c7e15a9101efdaa3090dd1a88b0377d11e53edcf178c7abe385?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"url":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?author=9"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}