, Columnist
Weaken Mercury Regulations? It’s Scarier Than It Sounds
It would set a precedent for a dangerous slant in how the EPA weighs costs and benefits.
How long can you hold your breath?
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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The Environmental Protection Agency is reportedly planning to propose a significant weakening of its mercury regulation, which is designed to protect public health. The agency’s plan includes an idea that would be simultaneously stupid and cruel — and that could lead to thousands of premature deaths.
First, full disclosure: Much of the work on the mercury regulation was done while I served as administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, from 2009 to 2012.