Trump Administration Clean Air Act Exemptions Increase Toxic Air Pollution for Millions

"For people across the country, these exemptions translate directly into higher toxic air pollution exposure and cancer risks," said Darya Minovi, a senior analyst at UCS and a report co-author. "In the simplest terms, the Trump administration is giving companies a green light to pollute the air millions of people breathe."

Nearly 4.6 million people live within two miles of at least one of the 546 exemption-eligible facilities with more than one-third of those people living near multiple facilities, where the health risks of increased pollution may be even higher.

The exemptions granted overwhelmingly impact communities already burdened by pollution, climate hazards, health harms and additional socio-economic stressors. Nearly half of exemption-eligible facilities are located in areas where cancer risk from toxic air pollution is 80 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) guideline, and 73% of facilities are in neighborhoods with a high or extreme cumulative burden of environmental, social, health, climate and economic stressors compared to the rest of the United States. Additionally, more than 4,300 schools and childcare centers are within two miles of at least one exemption-eligible facility.

"This is environmental injustice at a national scale, the impacts of which could reverberate for years or even decades to come," said Minovi.

The impact of the exemptions also varies regionally. Texas has more exemption-eligible facilities and more exemptions granted than any other state. Louisiana comes next on both counts. Additionally, six exempted facilities lie within two miles of tribal lands, including in the territories of the Gila River Indian Community, Navajo Nation, Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Creek Nation.

The administration is not only giving temporary exemptions, but is also working to permanently weaken nine hazardous air pollutant rules that were put in place following in-depth research, community engagement, and hundreds of thousands of public comments to protect people from cancer-causing and highly toxic pollutants including mercury, soot, ethylene oxide and chloroprene.

"The Trump administration is unraveling these health-protections with little transparency and no opportunity for public comment," said Minovi. "Companies were able to request exemptions simply by emailing EPA staff appointed by the Trump administration. Yet communities are being cut out of the process, science is being sidelined and public health is being sacrificed all so polluters can pocket more profits."