The Environmental Protection Agency has stopped estimating the dollar value of lives saved in the cost-benefit analyses for new pollution rules. Last week, the E.P.A. stopped estimating the monetary value of lives saved when setting limits on two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone. Instead, the agency is calculating only the costs to companies of complying with pollution regulations.
The NYT article goes on to point out that In the past, the EPA used a statistical analysis to estimate the value of a human life, estimated at ~$11.1 million. The agency then used a 30:1 human benefit to business cost as a reference point for consideration of regulations before they are approved. This is the first time the EPA has zeroed out the value of human life by this kind of analysis. An EPA spokesperson says the agency isn’t ignoring or undervaluing human health costs, but instead just isn’t putting a dollar value on it.
Link to non-paywalled NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/climate/epa-human-life-value.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GFA.vNFf.C-NzB7WCyWaF&smid=url-share