CONTACT: Katie Edwards, Clean Air Council, [email protected]
PITTSBURGH, PA — On April 30th, 2025 at 11:00am EST, Moms Clean Air Force and Clean Air Council, in partnership with the Climate Action Campaign and in-state partners, held a press conference to spotlight the Trump Administration’s sweeping rollbacks of clean air protections that endanger the health of Pennsylvania families, especially of the many living near major pollution sources.
“The unprecedented assault on environmental safeguards carried out in this Administration’s first 100 days has the potential to cause great harm to families across Pennsylvania, especially those living closest to sources of pollution. From granting pollution exemptions to some of the dirtiest power plants in the state, to undermining the very fabric of EPA’s power to safeguard the air our children breathe through rolling back the Endangerment Finding, the health costs to Pennsylvania families will be extreme,” said Vanessa Lynch, Pennsylvania Campaign Coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force. “We already know that children and young people are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change and air pollution, in large part because their bodies and brains are still developing. These rollbacks hurt our children and must end.”
“It appears that the Trump regime thinks that ‘ignorance is bliss,’ – what we don’t know can’t hurt us. But environmental scientists know that’s not true,” said Dr. Carrie McDonough, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University. “We have worked tirelessly gathering monitoring data to minimize exposure to harmful chemicals like mercury, forever chemicals (PFAS), and pesticides in our air, water, and food. Firings of federal workers and termination of research funding during Trump’s first 100 days threatens everything we’ve been working for and is stunting the growth of the next generation of scientists we will rely on to solve current and future environmental problems.”
“Over the past 100 days, Pennsylvanians have been harmed by fossil fuel corporations and the government officials they’ve bought,” Lois Bower-Bjornson, Outreach Coordinator, Clean Air Council. “This administration’s polluters-first agenda has already impacted your clean air, water and health. Clean Air Council earned an EPA grant for important environmental justice work, which was terminated by this administration, and now we will no longer have the resources we need to help residents. Our climate and our health should be a higher priority than polluter profits.”
“Prioritizing fossil fuels over renewable energy and rolling back environmental regulations for polluters will have long-term impacts on the health of people here in Pennsylvania and around the world,” said Alison L. Steele, executive director of the Environmental Health Project. “These steps backward will result in more chronic illnesses, more hospitalizations, and more deaths from accelerated climate change and from local pollution sources contaminating our air, water, and soil.”
“The Allegheny County Health Department shares the concerns about potential reductions in federal funding for public health initiatives,” said Dr. Iulia Vann, Director of the Allegheny County Health Department. “We remain committed to protecting the health and well-being of all residents across our county and are closely monitoring developments as they unfold. Federal support has been essential in addressing public health priorities, including air pollution, disease prevention, maternal and child health, environmental safety, and emergency preparedness. Any significant decrease in this funding could challenge our ability to sustain critical services across Allegheny County. We are actively assessing potential impacts and exploring alternative solutions. Our priority is to continue delivering equitable, effective, and evidence-based public health services, regardless of funding uncertainties. We urge continued dialogue with policymakers to ensure that the health needs of our communities remain a central focus of national decision-making.”
In just the first 100 days, the Administration has launched countless attacks on environmental safeguards that protect our air and water, undermining decades of progress. These unprecedented actions to weaken critical clean air protections includes allowing power plants to emit toxic chemicals without adhering to the federal requirements that keep us safe, assaults on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to protect us from greenhouse gas emissions, as well the termination of Congressionally appropriated federal funding for communities.
In PA, federal grant cancellations and freezes worth at least $13 million have hit projects to monitor air pollution, plant trees and protect residents from extreme summer heat in the Philadelphia region. This includes a $500,000 grant for Clean Air Council’s community air monitoring network to measure hazardous pollutants emitted by oil refining and help create a disaster preparedness network with nearby residents.
Pennsylvania families deserve better.