Washington, D.C. – In response to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt today dramatically weakening safeguards against hazardous industrial air pollution, the League of Conservation Voters released the following statement from Vice President for Government Affairs Sara Chieffo:

“Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump are gutting public health protections by implementing a fundamental rewrite of the Clean Air Act with the stroke of a pen. This breathtakingly dangerous move will cause a huge rise in hazardous pollutants like lead, mercury, and arsenic, endangering the lives of children, the elderly, and communities of color who already bear the brunt of pollution.

“Any attempt to spin this as anything other than a complete sellout of our most basic public health protections is disingenuous at best and potentially deadly for vulnerable communities at worst. Even for Trump and Pruitt who have put polluter profits ahead of people at every turn, this is a catastrophic move and one of the worst betrayals of the EPA’s public health mission ever.”