The waivers cover 12 coal facilities, two medical-device sterilizing facilities, two steel facilities and one chemical facility, according to a New York Times review cited in reporting published Oct. 27. The Times found that the administration had exempted 202 facilities in 39 states and Puerto Rico. The exemptions last at least two years and could be extended.

The waivers apply to a 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden. It required certain chemical plants, medical sterilizers and steel facilities to monitor toxic emissions along their property lines by 2027. If monitoring found specified levels of gases escaping, facilities would have to repair leaks and make findings public.

AdvanSix is the only Pennsylvania chemical plant on the exemption list, according to a map cited in the report. The plant makes chemicals and materials used in products ranging from fertilizers and plastics to paints and electronics. EPA records show it emitted several pollutants, including phenol, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide and fine particulate matter in 2020.

In 2022, as much as 2,000 gallons of phenol spilled at the plant after a worker failed to shut off a valve. Some of the toxin may have entered the sewer system. Short-term exposure can cause respiratory irritation, headaches and burning eyes; high exposure can be fatal. The fire department responded but did not order an evacuation.

EPA records also show the plant was cited for a clean-air permit violation in July and assessed a $20,000 penalty in September. AdvanSix could not be reached for comment in the reporting published Oct. 27.

Trump has cited national security and a lack of available compliance technology as reasons for granting the exemptions. Sarah Buckley, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the waivers risk delaying the rules while the EPA considers rewriting them. She argued that the administration’s rationale does not justify the exemptions: “This is just a ploy to let industry off the hook.”

The chemical industry has argued the requirements are costly and unworkable, and trade groups sought to delay or overturn them. The Times reported that Trump began using a provision of the Clean Air Act that allows presidential exemptions after returning to office. The Times characterized the action as the largest presidential rollback of the act’s protections since it became law in 1970.

The Clairton coke works, which processes coal for steelmaking, is also among the facilities receiving relief. U.S. Steel spokesperson Andrew Fulton told the Times the plant had never been fined for exceeding benzene-emissions standards. He said the company plans up to $2.5 billion in investments at its southwestern Pennsylvania plants, but that spending would not include new pollution controls at Clairton while the rule is under reconsideration.

The waivers mean communities near the affected facilities may wait longer for emissions monitoring and public disclosure required by the Biden-era rule. Buckley said the requirements reflected updated scientific assessments, including evidence that ethylene oxide is substantially more carcinogenic than previously understood.