Texas Moms are outraged at EPA’s attack on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in the midst of a global respiratory pandemic: Sabotaging these standards is an unforgivable assault on our health

PRESS STATEMENT
April 16, 2020

Contact: Catherine Flowers, cflowers@momscleanairforce.org, (713) 319-5708

Houston, TX – Today, in the midst of a global respiratory pandemic, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is expected to finalize his attack on the life-saving Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). In response, Catherine Flowers, Field Organizer for Moms Clean Air Force’s Texas Chapter and Houston resident, issued this rebuke:

“Right now, Americans across the country are dying from coronavirus—a lethal respiratory pandemic. Moms are outraged that Andrew Wheeler continues to insist on protecting industrial polluters and threatening the health of our families during an unprecedented public health crisis.

“The Trump Administration’s assault on life-saving standards that protect our babies and children from harmful mercury pollution is unacceptable. To make matters worse, this new rule is just one of dozens of dangerous rollbacks from Trump’s EPA that jeopardize public health and the environment. Texas is home to six of the nation’s top ten worst mercury-polluting power plants. Weakening the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards will therefore have an outsize impact on Texans across the state. Here in Houston, where I live, our community suffers from poor air quality, lack of adequate monitoring, and limited regulatory oversight. Weakening a rule that’s working to protect families, in a place where families are already suffering from power plant pollution, is simply appalling.

“The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are already fully implemented, and they are currently protecting families across the country from toxic air pollution. Since the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were finalized in 2012, mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants in Texas has decreased by 81%, with an estimated $9.7 billion in health benefits to Texans each year. Across the country, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards save 11,000 Americans from premature death annually.

“This attack on the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is outrageous and a transparent giveaway to industry interests. Texas families will continue to fight these attacks on behalf of the most vulnerable among us: our children.”

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About Moms Clean Air Force: Moms Clean Air Force is a community of over one million moms—and dads—working together to fight air pollution, including the urgent crisis of our changing climate. For more information, go to http://www.momscleanairforce.org/or follow us on Twitter @CleanAirMoms, Instagram @cleanairmoms, or Facebook.