MAHA: Trump Guts Protections Against Toxic Chemicals That Cause Brain Damage in Children
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Washington, D.C. – Today, the Trump administration gutted critical health protections that safeguard Americans from toxic chemicals like mercury, which causes brain damage in children and increases cancer rates. In just a few months, Trump has slashed rules that could have prevented a projected 30,000 deaths, sending more pollution into our air and water to pad the profits of his billionaire donors.
Climate Power Communications Director Alex Glass issued the following statement: “The cost of Donald Trump’s presidency keeps rising. Today, he’s gutting key health protections against chemicals that give children brain damage and increase the risk of cancer. Trump is giving the corporate polluters who funded his campaign a new license to pump toxic chemicals into the air we breathe and water we drink. Instead of making Americans healthy, Trump is making them sick so that his billionaire donors can pad their bottom line.”
Here are some facts on Trump’s reversals of health protections in our air and water:
- Trump’s EPA announced it would reconsider air quality standards that reduced soot levels. The standards were expected to provide up to $46 billion in public health benefits and avoid 4,500 premature deaths.
- Trump’s EPA announced it would reconsider standards for hazardous air pollutants. The standards set out rules for pollutants that were linked to cancer or serious health effects.
- The Trump administration pushed to roll back protections on the “forever chemicals” that contaminate our water supplies, sought to weaken PFAS evaluations in order to preempt state-level bans on the toxic chemicals, and withdrew a rule requiring PFAS manufacturers to monitor and reduce their pollution.
- Trump’s EPA announced it would reconsider water pollution limits for the steam electric power generating industry. The 2024 rules establishing wastewater pollution limits for mercury and arsenic provided more than $3 billion in public health benefits each year.