Executive Summary: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the authority of the Clean Air Act, has issued many rules over the past 40 years to protect human health and the environment by limiting air pollution. EPA estimates that four recently proposed or finalized Clean Air Act rules (listed below) will deliver roughly $500 billion in annual economic benefits, and that the economic benefits of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments will rise to roughly $2 trillion annually in 2020. EPA’s estimates of the economic value of its clean air rules include the value of avoided premature mortality, negative health impacts, lost worker productivity due to illness, and environmental improvements such as increased visibility and agricultural productivity.
Saving Lives and Reducing Health Care Costs: How Clean Air Act Rules Benefit the Nation examines some of the health benefits of Clean Air Act rules and estimates the air pollution related health care savings that result from reduced rates of illness that come from breathing cleaner air. There are two parts to the analysis. The first part of the analysis examines four recently proposed or finalized EPA rules to limit air pollution: the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, the Utility Mercury and Air Toxics Rule, the Industrial Boiler Rule, and the Cement Kiln Rule.
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