{"id":3226,"date":"2026-02-20T20:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3226"},"modified":"2026-02-20T20:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:00:13","slug":"epa-dismantles-protections-for-mercury-and-air-toxics-from-power-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3226","title":{"rendered":"EPA Dismantles Protections for Mercury and Air Toxics From Power Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today finalized a repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)<\/a> \u2013 a move that will allow coal- and oil-fired power plants to emit more brain-damaging mercury, other harmful heavy metals, and dangerous soot. Those emissions put the public at greater risk of heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature death.<\/p>\n

EPA also eliminated a common-sense requirement that power plants install cost-effective systems to continuously monitor the amount of pollution they emit \u2014 depriving communities of a powerful tool for ensuring power plants comply with air pollution standards and provide real-time data on their emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump\u2019s EPA is making an attack on public health with the repeal of the 2024 MATS,\u201d said Earthjustice Attorney Nicholas Morales. <\/strong>\u201cThis unlawful repeal will result in higher levels of mercury, soot, and other hazardous pollution into our air and communities. With this move, the Trump administration is wiping out health protections critical for protecting children from toxins like mercury just to save the coal industry some money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The repeal of MATS follows a two-year exemption the Trump administration granted to some of the nation\u2019s dirtiest power plants, many of which had demonstrated their ability to meet the updated 2024 standards. In June 2025, community and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice and other counsel sued the Trump administration over this unlawful decision<\/a>. The exemptions, issued in April and July, allow 71 coal power plants to release more mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that tighter limits are achievable and would protect children, pregnant people, and people with chronic heart and lung disease from toxic air pollution.<\/p>\n

Background on MATS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before MATS was established in 2012, there were no federal limits on how much mercury and toxic air pollution coal and oil -fired powered plants could emit. The standards led to a 90% reduction in mercury emissions<\/a>, 80% drop in other metals, and helped save up to 11,000 lives each year. In 2024, the EPA strengthened MATS, building on what has become one of its most effective air pollution rules.<\/p>\n

EPA\u2019s own analysis of the 2024 rule found:<\/p>\n