Sen. Carper Commends EPA for Long Overdue Protections from Toxic Air Pollution

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released a statement following the announcement of the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized achievable clean air standards for air toxic pollution for industrial boilers, incinerators and cement kilns:

“Today, our children’s health – and the health of all Delawareans – received an early Christmas present from the Environmental Protection Agency. After 12 years of delay, the agency has finally implemented rules that clean up some of our country’s largest sources of man-made mercury and air toxics. The Environmental Protection Agency’s clean air rules for these harmful pollutants, including the so-called Boiler MACT, are lifesavers – literally. These clean air rules are estimated to prevent up to 8,100 premature deaths every year by reducing dangerous mercury levels and air toxics found in our air, streams, lakes, and fish. These pollutants are dangerous for all Americans but particularly our children. These new clean air rules are also cost efficient – for every one dollar we spend to help clean up our air, we may see up to $29 in benefits. These rules protect public health, but also reflect industry concerns– in fact less than 1 percent of our nation’s boilers will need to add new technology, the rest will only need to implement best practices. I commend the Environmental Protection Agency for taking great pains to formulate common sense rules that protect both our public health and our economy, and I will continue to make sure that all Delawareans and Americans have clean air to breathe, air that’s free of all types of air pollution, no matter what state they live in.”

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