A hard-fought update to regulations for hazardous waste burning operations would make no difference in air quality, according to a newly released EPA proposal.
The update follows a lengthy court fight. In a 2022 lawsuit, a coalition of environmental groups wrote that lead, mercury and other pollutants released by those operations poison “the air, water, and soil of neighboring communities, including environmental justice communities.”
Under the draft rule, however, the agency would set new emission limits or work practice standards for just two: hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen cyanide, both of which had previously been unregulated.
Because emissions data shows that all affected “hazardous waste combustors” are already meeting those limits, EPA does not anticipate that the planned changes would impact air quality.
