FILE PHOTO: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler looks on during a ceremony to sign the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in urban sustainability with Brazil’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles (not pictured) in Brasilia, Brazil January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
(Reuters) – The Trump administration on Tuesday said it had decided not to tighten air quality regulations governing soot pollution, arguing that the current standards are adequate to protect human health.
“We believe that the current standard is protective of public health… and does not need to be changed,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a conference call with reporters.
He said there are “still a lot of uncertainties” in the science around small particulate matter pollution and that the agency would be reviewing the standard again as new research emerges.
Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama