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douglas9

(4,358 posts)
Tue Jun 2, 2020, 09:10 AM Jun 2020

Trade war tradeoff: How a Missouri town got America's dirtiest air

MARSTON, Missouri (Reuters) - The residents of New Madrid County cheered in 2018 when a bankrupt aluminum smelter that rises over the Missouri region’s vast farm fields restarted operations and hiring, thanks to aluminum tariffs levied in President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The smelter reclaimed its place as one of New Madrid’s biggest employers, with more than 500 workers. But the resurrection has come at a cost.

The soot pouring out of its smokestacks last year consistently produced the dirtiest air recorded in America, according to a Reuters review of pollution monitor data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (For a graphic on the pollution from the smelter's smokestacks, see tmsnrt.rs/2ZUAbrT )

The unhealthy air underscores the tension between industrial development and the environment as the Trump administration rolls back regulations on drilling, mining and manufacturing to boost the economy.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pollution-newmadrid-insight/trade-war-tradeoff-how-a-missouri-town-got-americas-dirtiest-air-idUSKBN2391GL?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

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