POUGHKEEPSIE – The US EPA proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollution from power plants. It was under a court deadline to develop the standard.

 The standards, announced Wednesday, will have environmental and economic impacts for the better said Ned Sullivan, president of Poughkeepsie-based Scenic Hudson.

“EPA is estimated some 40,000 jobs that will be created in installing the new equipment required to meet these new standards,” he said. “In addition, we can expect reduced hospital costs and healthcare costs throughout the system for people all over the country.”

The announced national standard is “20 years in the making” and a “significant milestone in the Clean Air Act’s already unprecedented record of ensuring our children are protected from the damaging effects of toxic air pollution.”