The Environmental Protection Agency openly admits in its proposal for new emission guidelines that the plan could lead to up 1,400 more premature deaths a year.
A 289-page EPA report released Tuesday provides details on the impact of the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy rule, which would reverse Obama-era cuts to power plant carbon pollution. The EPA acknowledges that the proposed plan is expected to “increase emissions of carbon dioxide” and “increase the level of emissions of certain pollutants in the atmosphere that adversely affect human health,” as compared to the projections for Obama’s plan.
The report includes tables showing that, by the EPA’s own analysis, the most likely outcome of the new rule would result in 470 to 1,400 additional premature deaths annually by 2030.
The increase in pollutants is also expected to bring up to 96,000 new cases of exacerbated asthma by 2030, the EPA’s figures show. Air pollution-related health problems could cause up to 48,000 lost work days and 140,000 lost school days per year, the report says.