The Trump administration is planning to significantly weaken the government rules that control emissions of mercury—a toxic substance that belches from coal-burning power plants—The New York Times reports. The proposal wouldn’t get rid of mercury regulations entirely, but would reportedly allow Trump’s government to weaken it and potentially allow a total scrapping of the rules at in the future. The proposal is being spearheaded by Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who is now the acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The weakening of the mercury rule would be a major victory for the coal industry as it’s considered the most costly regulation to implement. Mercury is known to damage the nervous systems of children and fetuses.
Read it at The New York Times
