The EPA is changing how it considers the costs and benefits of air pollution rules
NPR • • nation
Key Points:
- The EPA has stopped assigning a dollar value to the health benefits of reducing fine particle (PM2.5) and ozone pollution, citing uncertainty in economic impact estimates, as part of a new rule weakening air pollution regulations on fossil fuel power plant turbines.
- While the agency continues to consider health benefits, it will no longer monetize them, raising concerns among health experts that this could lead to rollbacks in air pollution rules and increased health risks for vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory illnesses.
- Historically, the EPA used cost-benefit analyses showing high economic returns from pollution reduction, with estimates of over 230,000 lives saved annually and billions in savings; this policy shift marks an unusual departure from that approach.
