1. The air we breatheA flare stack at a refinery in Linden, New Jersey. Photograph: Kena Betancur\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n
A range of recent EPA actions may expose Americans to dirtier air, experts told the Guardian. In March, officials invited polluting facilities to seek toxic pollutant exemptions under the Clean Air Act by simply sending an email.<\/p>\n
Overall, Trump\u2019s EPA offered two-year exemptions to Clean Air Act pollution standards to over a third of all domestic coal plants, chemical manufacturers, coke ovens, commercial sterilizers and highly toxic facilities, the advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists found last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n An EPA spokesperson said the president had the authority to issue Clean Air Act exemptions \u201cfor national security reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n The agency has also overturned strengthened limits on major pollution sources<\/a>. And in September, it announced plans to shut down the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee and Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee, both critical to developing clean air standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an even more stunning move, this month, the agency stopped estimating<\/a> the monetary value of lives saved when restricting fine particulate matter and ozone \u2013 two of the deadliest air pollutants \u2013 calculating only the costs to companies. The change went far beyond the usual \u201cpendulum swing\u201d of regulations in which Democratic administrations tighten rules and Republican administrations ease them, said Tejada.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re ripping the pendulum out of the clock and telling people what time it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n An EPA spokesperson said the agency was updating the consideration of human health in regulatory decision making \u201cbecause air pollution has already dropped so dramatically that older tools can\u2019t accurately measure today\u2019s smaller risks\u201d. They did not specify how the EPA will model these impacts in the future.<\/p>\n The agency is also reviewing clean air standards \u201cto ensure they remain effective,\u201d which is \u201cresponsible governance, not rollback,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe claim that EPA\u2019s actions will worsen air quality is simply wrong. America\u2019s air is the cleanest it\u2019s been in decades, and that progress continues every year,\u201d the spokesperson also said.<\/p>\n 2. The water we drink Photograph: MediaNews Group\/Orange County Register\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s EPA will also imperil water quality, experts say. In March, it said it would narrow the definition of waterways protected under the Clean Water Act, which would ease restrictions on runoff from agriculture, mining and petrochemicals. In June, the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, announced plans to revise Biden-era wastewater standards for coal plants, meant to curb the discharge of toxic heavy metals like arsenic, mercury and lead.<\/p>\n Under Zeldin, the EPA has moved to rescind or reconsider federal limits on PFAS, a class of persistent \u201cforever chemicals\u201d linked to cancer, immune dysfunction, developmental harm, and more. In May, he proposed repealing four of six national drinking water standards for these contaminants, and in September said the EPA will no longer defend Biden-era protections against unsafe Pfas levels.<\/p>\n Millions of Americans rely on water systems which have seen PFAS levels<\/a> that previous EPA administrations deemed unsafe, said Tejada.\u00a0<\/p>\n An EPA spokesperson claimed the agency narrowed the Clean Water Act waterways definition to align with supreme court precedent, while defending the extension of compliance deadlines, saying those moves make sure \u201cutilities can plan investments, keep the lights on, and still meet tough limits on toxic discharges\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAny suggestion that this EPA is backing off Pfas is patently false,\u201d the spokesperson said, noting that the administration had kept some standards in place. \u201cOur water policies are about cleaner water, stronger infrastructure, and smarter, more workable rules.\u201d<\/p>\n Gaurab Basu, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, called such acts \u201cunconscionable\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe as health professionals see the toll of their decisions, and we are enraged at the harm they are causing our patients,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 3. The chemicals around usA pesticide warning sign on the edge of a field in Wisconsin. Photograph: Wolfgang Hoffmann\/Design Pics Editorial\/Universal\/Getty Images<\/p>\n EPA has\u00a0worked to loosen restrictions on toxic compounds, raising concerns about former chemical industry executives<\/a> Trump tapped to lead the agency\u2019s chemical safety efforts.<\/p>\n