US sets new standards for mercury, toxic air pollutants

A key US environmental agency has unveiled the country’s first-ever national standards for mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants. The sweeping regulations mandated by the Congress in 1990 and delayed by prolonged litigation, lobbying, and legislative battles — will require utilities to cut at least 90 per cent of their emissions of mercury.

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year.

The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier — preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

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