• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Moms Clean Air Force

Fighting for Our Kids' Health

  • Take Action
    • Right Now
      • Sign a Petition
      • Legislation We Support
      • Clean Air Action Guide
      • Register to Vote
    • Attend an Event
      • Event Calendar
    • En Español
      • Ecomadres
    • Support Moms
      • Donate
  • What We Work On
    • Moms Priorities
      • EPA Work
      • Legislation We Support
      • Environmental Justice
    • Air Pollution
      • Clean Transportation
      • Mercury
      • Plastics and Petrochemicals
      • Smog
      • Soot Pollution
    • Climate Change
      • Carbon Pollution
      • Clean Energy
      • Extreme Weather
      • Mental Health
      • Methane
    • Toxic Chemicals
      • Chemical Safety
      • Plastics and Petrochemicals
      • Schools
  • Where We Work
    • State Chapters
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Illinois
      • Iowa
      • Louisiana
      • Maryland
      • Michigan
      • Missouri
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Hampshire
      • New Jersey
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • Ohio
      • Pennsylvania
      • South Carolina
      • Tennessee
      • Texas
      • Virginia
      • Washington
      • Washington, DC
      • West Virginia
  • Who We Are
    • Mission

      We are a community of over one million parents united against air and climate pollution to protect our children’s health.

      • Learn More
    • Our Team
      • National Team
      • Field Organizers
      • Writers
      • Job Openings
    • Learn More
      • Our Mission
      • Legislation We Support
      • National Wins
      • 2022 Annual Report
    • Programs
      • EcoMadres
      • Community Health Equity
      • Indigenous Communities
    • Get in Touch
      • Contact Us
      • Media Inquiries
  • Articles
    • All Articles
      • Topics
        • Air Pollution
        • Climate Change
        • Toxic Chemicals
        • Politics
        • Interviews
        • Hope
    • Almeta Cooper Defends Strong Pollution Protections Before Congress
      EcoMadres Noticias: September 2023
      Here's How to Improve Air Quality in Your Child's School
      Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrate and Activate!
  • Resources
  • Press
    • Media Contact

      For all urgent press inquiries, please contact Sasha Tenenbaum, 917-887-0146

      • Email Sasha
    • Moms in the Media
      • Press Releases
      • News Stories
      • Moms Make News Archives
  • Donate

FacebookTwitterinstagram

  • Take Action
  • Join the Force
  • Donate

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.”

###

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.

Join the force and stay updated on opportunities to take action:

Donate

Footer

Moms Clean Air Force

We are a community of 1.5 million moms and dads united against air pollution – including the urgent crisis of our changing climate – to protect our children’s health.

Areas of Focus

  • Air Pollution
  • Climate Change
  • Toxic Chemicals

FacebookTwitterinstagram

© 2023 Moms Clean Air Force
All rights reserved

Privacy Policy