EPA says it will stop calculating health care savings from key air pollution rules

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it will stop calculating how much money is saved in health care costs avoided and deaths prevented from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants.

The change means the EPA will focus rules for fine particulate matter and ozone only on the cost to industry, part of a broader realignment under President Donald Trump toward a business-friendly approach that has included the rollback of multiple policies meant to safeguard human health and the environment and slow climate change.

The agency said in a statement late Monday that it “absolutely remains committed to our core mission of protecting human health and the environment” but “will not be monetizing the impacts at this time.” The EPA will continue to estimate costs to businesses to comply with the rules and will continue “ongoing work to refine its economic methodologies” of pollution rules, spokeswoman Brigit Hirsch said.

Environmental and public health advocates called the agency’s action a dangerous abdication of one of its core missions.

“The EPA’s mandate is to protect public health, not to ignore the science in order to eliminate clean air safegu...