Report: EPA clean air benefits include 200,000 lives saved
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(Colorado News Connection) New air pollution standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency over the past four years should bring $250 billion in economic benefits each year in Colorado and across the U.S., according to a new report.
Rob Wolcott, founding board chair of the Environmental Protection Network and the report's co-author, said the new protections will save more than 200,000 lives.
"In addition to the reductions in premature death, we have the massive reductions in the number of asthma attacks," Wolcott pointed out.
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Analysts projected reduced air pollution from industry and tailpipes will lead to 100 million fewer asthma attacks, ensuring fewer missed school days and fewer trips to the emergency room. Walcott noted the economic benefits far exceed any costs associated with compliance with the new standards.
Coloradans living along the Front Range may have to wait for some benefits. The EPA has cited Colorado for not reducing ground-level ozone pollution to levels considered safe.
Report co-author Jeremy Symons, senior adviser for the Environmental Protection Network, warned benefits from the new air pollution standards are not guaranteed. He pointed to Chapter 13 of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, written by six former Trump-appointed senior EPA officials, which details plans to roll back key EPA protections.
"By putting polluters in control of our air and water, instead of EPA scientists, Project 2025 would put millions of Americans needlessly at risk from asthma attacks, from cancer, lung disease and heart disease," Symons contended.
Walcott added the new standards are especially critical for those most at risk from air pollution, including children, older Americans and low-income families and communities of color living in the shadows of refineries and highways.
"Communities in particular, that have been subject to sustained, high, cumulative exposures over time, will be the ones to experience the greatest benefits here," he said.
