A report by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of
Public Health provides an expanded review of six new air quality
regulations proposed or recently adopted by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA). These include the first national standards
for reducing dangerous emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants
from power plants. Though the cost of implementing the new regulations
is estimated to be about $195 billion over the next 20 years or so, the
economic, environmental and health benefits amount to well over $1
trillion, considerably outweighing the control costs, according to the
report, which was issued by the Joint Center for Political and Economic
Studies, a non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C.
Patrick L. Kinney, ScD, professor of Environmental Health Sciences
and director of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health's
Program on Climate and Health, and MPH candidate Amruta Nori-Sarma also
examined the role that environmental justice issues play in the
development of EPA regulations. The researchers further analyzed the
findings in light of a recent poll conducted by the Joint Center on
climate change, health and conservation behaviors.
