January 14, 2026
FOLLOW-UP STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO AIR POLLUTION COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ANNOUNCEMENT FROM EPA
From Jennifer Hadayia, executive director of Air Alliance Houston
“Less than 2 weeks since their last policy announcement, the EPA has taken another step to undermine community protections from air pollution.
On January 12, multiple major news outlets reported that the EPA would soon adopt a new method for calculating the costs and benefits of reducing air pollution, which would no longer consider the monetary benefits of improved public health. For example, the EPA previously estimated that the stronger PM2.5 standard would result in as much as $46 Billion in net health benefits in less than 10 years. The EPA is now saying it will no longer consider such monetary health benefits in its rule-making.
This is yet another effort by the current EPA Administration to protect fossil fuel industry interests by finding new ways to eliminate the responsibility for their own pollution. The EPA has abandoned its mission to protect health and the environment, and people will suffer.
We urge our local elected officials to speak out against these proposed changes at the EPA.”
Comments on this proposal can be sent to:
- The EPA Health and Environmental Impacts Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards: https://www.epa.gov/economic-and-cost-analysis-air-pollution-regulations/forms/contact-us-about-economic-and-cost
- The EPA Office of Air and Radiation
- John Shoaff, Office of Air Program Support’s (OAPS) Director | (202) 564 – 0531
- Jonathan Lubetsky, OAPS Regulatory Process and Transparency Division Director | (202) 564 – 3166
- The EPA South Central Region 6 Office by Phone: 800-887-6063
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EPA has declared 1,3-Butadiene, a known carcinogenic chemical, as “safe” for community exposure.
HOUSTON, TX – On December 31, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to adopt new regulations on 1,3-Butadiene that could weaken or eliminate community protections from this known airborne carcinogen. Claiming findings from a new risk assessment of this chemical, the EPA has determined that 1,3-Butadiene has “no unreasonable risks for consumers or the general population (including people living near facilities).” This new assessment contradicts the EPA’s own findings from less than 1 year ago, which did show reasonable exposure risks for fenceline communities.
“The new year is just beginning, and EPA is already acting again in the disinterest of communities,” says Jennifer Hadayia, executive director of Air Alliance Houston (AAH). “These new recommendations go against the EPA’s own established risk assessment methodology for chemicals like 1,3-Butadiene. I am truly concerned that additional chemical air toxics will be reviewed with a similar agenda.”
1,3-Butadiene is a chemical produced through the processing of petroleum and is mainly used in the production of synthetic rubber but is also found in smaller amounts in plastics and fuel. Acute low exposures may irritate the eyes, throat, nose, and lungs. Based on extensive human and animal studies, the EPA had previously classified 1,3-Butadiene as a known human carcinogen.
AAH analyzed the prevalence of 1,3-Butadiene emissions in its “Dirty Dozen” report. In the Houston area, 1,3-Butadiene is the 3rd most commonly emitted high-risk chemical with over 2M pounds released into the air over a recent 5-year period. 11 different local facilities regularly emit this chemical into the air.
Reflecting on the air quality impact of 1,3-Butadiene, Dawson Philips, AAH’s Research & Policy Coordinator says, “While the EPA claims its new risk assessment methods are more ‘real-world’ based on facility characteristics, they deliberately downplay community health by ignoring the cumulative impacts of having multiple facilities in one area emitting this same air toxin. That’s not a real or accurate risk assessment.”
The EPA is required to set regulations for chemicals like 1,3-Butadiene under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) intended to address “unreasonable” risks to human health and the environment from new and existing chemicals. This latest announcement confirms the unreasonable risks to workers exposed to 1,3-Butadiene under conditions involving manufacturing/importing, processing, and disposal uses in the absence of personal protective equipment.
Continues Hadayia, “What is further disingenuous about this announcement is its presentation as an aggregately positive move by reaffirming the need for worker protection. We absolutely agree that workers need the highest level of protection from chemicals inside facilities, but so do the people who live next door. It’s not an either/or proposition.” The change was further positioned by the EPA as part of its efforts to Make America Healthy Again. As with EPA’s prior actions to rollback air pollution protections, this new announcement will not improve community health.
It remains to be seen whether this new determination of “no reasonable risk” will change the current federal standard for community exposure to 1,3-Butadiene emissions or keep it “status quo.” AAH and its partners will continue to advocate for the strongest possible standards of pollution control and cancer prevention for both workers and communities.
Media Contact: Brenda Franco
[email protected] // 832.755.6220
About Air Alliance Houston
Air Alliance Houston is a non-profit organization working to reduce the public health impacts of air pollution and advance environmental justice through applied research, education, and advocacy. For more information and resources, please visit www.airalliancehouston.org.
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