The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will no longer calculate the monetary benefits from saving lives and improving people’s health by curbing two of the most deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone. Exposure to one or both of these pollutants is linked to asthma, and heart and lung disease.
The Trump administration may believe this move will facilitate rollbacks of anti-pollution rules, according to an article in The New York Times.
Advocacy organizations say deaths and illnesses will increase under this new Trump administration policy:
Katie Tracy, senior regulatory policy advocate for Public Citizen:
“EPA should strengthen how it values human life and health, not pretend it doesn’t matter. By refusing to monetize the benefits of cleaner air, the agency is effectively saying that preventing asthma attacks, heart disease, and early deaths have no dollar value at all.
“This unconscionable decision by the EPA should be called out for what it really is – a favor to corporate interests at the expense of the environment and public health.
“EPA’s decision is not only shocking – it’s illegal and violates the Supreme Court’s instruction that the government cannot stack the deck to benefit polluters. Accordingly, if this disturbing policy leads to regulatory repeals or weak standards, it will certainly be challenged in court.”
Rachel Weintraub, executive director of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, or CSS.
“EPA’s refusal to monetize the important health benefits of clean air will put people at risk of illness and death, and take money out of workers’ pockets.
“In a report released in May 2025, CSS documented that regulations can have a significant effect on productivity, by keeping workers safe and healthy and thus better able to do their work. By reducing air pollution, the Clean Air Act increased productivity, employment, and lifetime earnings by approximately $4,300 a person. The EPA has found that every year these regulations prevent more than 100,000 deaths and millions of lost workdays, and that the benefits of the rules exceed the costs by a factor of 30. Ignoring these extensive benefits makes clear that this decision puts corporations’ bottom lines over people’s health and safety.”
David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program:
“This move shows the Trump administration’s unyielding fealty to his billionaire corporate backers at the expense of the American people. If the EPA considers the costs of a rule, it must also consider the benefits. If the Trump EPA attempts to justify a rollback by ignoring or giving short shrift to the underlying rule’s health benefits, the courts should strike it down. Protecting public health is part of EPA’s core mission.”
Final thoughts
It’s just shocking that the Trump administration can be so callous by adopting rules that will lead to more illnesses and deaths in the United States. Over the years, millions of people will die and develop illnesses because of Trump’s favoritism of industry. It’s unconscionable and a significant failure to protect the public health.
