The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rescinded regulations that limited mercury and other toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants, in a move that is intended to support the struggling coal industry. The decision affects the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which mandated reductions in emissions of harmful metals including arsenic and lead – substances associated with serious health risks including heart attacks and cancer. The move marks the latest in a series of actions by US President Trump’s administration that have been directed at energizing the coal sector.
