By: Sophia Mora-Ortega, Environmental Policy and Research Intern, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: July 10, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0794-6978
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments today. My name is Sophia Mora-Ortega. I am a college student and the Environmental Policy and Research Intern for Moms Clean Air Force. I strongly oppose EPA’s proposal to repeal recent updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards: protections that safeguard everyone in our country from dangerous air pollutants.
I was born in the early 2000s, before the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were initially introduced in 2012. As a young girl, I learned that mercury was a dangerous poison but had no idea that coal plants were emitting it into the very air that so many communities breathe. This same process is the primary source of mercury contamination in our food chain.
The tragic reality is that the fish advisories present in so many communities across the United States exist because mercury poisoning is irreversible and disproportionately harmful to the developing brains of babies and young children. While mercury protections have made tremendous progress over the past decade, there is still much more work to be done, and no amount of mercury exposure is safe. We cannot ask expecting mothers to sacrifice their health or the health of their children because the most important federal standards to reduce mercury pollution are in threat of being weakened.
The strengthening of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that occurred just last year under the previous administration is critical for public health. For one, it holds coal plants accountable for burning lignite coal, a type of coal that is known to be an especially strong polluter. Additionally, it bolsters protections against other hazardous air toxins such as lead, arsenic, and chromium.
These heavy metals have no place in the air we breathe, and they can cause fatal heart attacks, cancer, and developmental delays in children. These substances accumulate in the body over time and when inhaled or ingested, they rob future generations of their health and full cognitive potential. Allowing any rollback of these standards would be a direct attack on children’s right to a healthy life. Another critical protection we cannot risk losing is the existing requirement for monitoring continuous emissions for all coal plants. Reverting to periodic tests obscures the true scale of pollution and further threatens the well-being of children all across the country.
These protective measures are essential to protect everyone, but especially the people who are least able to advocate for themselves; those that feel the brunt of this burden. Families in rural areas and low-income neighborhoods are largely comprised of Indigenous communities and communities of color. These individuals bear the heaviest harm of mercury contamination because of their cultural and/or subsistence reliance on fishing. Also, the areas they reside in are typically disproportionately close to power plants and other highly polluting facilities, meaning that weaker standards lead to an even greater risk of cancer and respiratory illnesses. These disparities are a direct legacy of discriminatory zoning and redlining policies. Ensuring these strengthened MATS protections remain is a critical step toward justice for at-risk communities.
Once again, I strongly urge the Environmental Protection Agency not to repeal recently strengthened protections in Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, keeping them fully intact for the wellbeing of children across the country, our most vulnerable neighbors, and the future generations that deserve better. Thank you.