Government shutdown pollution coal power plants – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Justine Calma
Government shutdowns tend to be bad for the air we breathe.

Coal-fired power plants pumped out as much as 20 percent more particle pollution during the last federal government shutdown in 2018 and 2019 as the US Environmental Protection Agency froze inspections.

The current shutdown has lasted nearly a month now, inching closer to the 2018-2019 record for the longest in history.

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