Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a new report and interactive map, Dirty Air, Dirty Deeds, which shows that more than one-third of coal plants, chemical manufacturers, coke ovens, and other facilities have been largely exempted from multiple clear air rules that were put in place to protect communities from toxic air pollution. These legally dubious exemptions cut the public out of decisions that affect their health and community, and the hundreds of thousands of public comments that informed these regulations.
Free pass to pollute
In March 2025, President Trump invoked a provision in the Clean Air Act—typically used only during national emergencies such as natural disasters—to give industries that emit hazardous air pollutants a two-year exemption from their Clean Air Act responsibilities. Companies and operators were told that just by sending an email to the EPA, with no clear application or criteria, they could “apply” for this exemption.
At the same time that the Trump administration is halting protections from soot, mercury, ethylene oxide, and other toxic substances in our air, the EPA is working to weaken the nine affected regulations altogether. So far, the EPA has issued exemptions for facilities regulated under seven of the nine rules, with more likely to come. All nine of the rules were strengthened under the Biden administration, and rolling them back will deprive communities of protection from toxic air emissions. For example, the 2024 Commercial Sterilizer rule was projected to reduce emissions of cancer-causing ethylene oxide by up to 90 percent. Now, 39 of the 90 sterilizers regulated under the rule have been granted these dubious exemptions.
Already-overburdened communities face the biggest dangers
UCS estimates that nearly 4.6 million people across 46 US states and Puerto Rico live within two miles of at least one exemption-eligible facility. Across the country, there are more than 4,300 schools and childcare centers reported within two miles of at least one exemption-eligible facility. The four states with the most exempted facilities are Texas (24), Louisiana (20), Pennsylvania (17), and Illinois (10).
Furthermore, UCS identified 60 clusters where two or more exemption-eligible facilities are within two miles of one another, amplifying the potential cumulative burden of harm from these exemptions and forthcoming rollbacks. Indeed, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of exemption-eligible facilities are in areas that are considered high or extreme risk as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Environmental Justice and Climate Burden Index. This means that most of the communities where these facilities are located are already impacted by the cumulative impacts of pollution, climate hazards, social stressors, and health harms. This includes indicators such as poverty, levels of air and water pollution, flooding and extreme heat risks, asthma and cancer rates, and more.
How to use the map
The UCS analysis investigates nine types of facilities that are eligible for, and have received, these potentially unlawful exemptions. To use the interactive map, you can click on each point to see the facility name, the city and state in which it is located, and the rule under which it is regulated. We also provide the estimated number of people within two miles of the facility, as well as the number of schools and childcare centers, percent of people with low income, percent of non-White people, and percent of people who do not speak English as a first language in that radius. We also offer data on the existing burden from environmental and social stressors, as well as from cancer risks associated with air toxics emissions, in those communities.
You can also search for specific addresses or locations by clicking the search bar in the top lefthand corner of the map (best seen in full screen mode). When you zoom in, you will see that each facility is colored yellow (exemption-eligible) or orange (exemption granted), and any cluster of facilities that are within two or fewer miles of one another are outlined in pink. You will notice that each facility has a circle around it, demonstrating the two-mile area surrounding it. Being within two miles does not necessarily mean that you are breathing unsafe levels of toxic air pollutants, but in general, the closer you are to a facility, the higher your risk.
Take action: Tell the EPA to protect public health
The Trump administration is once again endangering people’s health and safety to line the pockets of politically powerful corporations and the fossil fuel industry—and cutting the public out of the decisionmaking process. These nine clean air rules were strengthened thanks to extensive community input, hundreds of thousands of public comments, and consideration of the best available science. The EPA’s effort to cast aside these protections denies workers, children, and families their right to clean air. . The EPA’s effort to cast aside these protections denies workers, children, and families their right to clean air.
You can help hold the Trump administration accountable by:
- Sharing this map with your neighbors, colleagues, and leaders in your community.
- Contacting your member of Congress to ask them to hold President Trump and the EPA accountable for unlawfully using these exemptions to give polluters a free pass.