内容来源：https://www.theverge.com/science/882288/trump-ai-data-center-power-plant-pollution-mercury-mats

内容总结：

特朗普政府近日正式撤销了拜登时期对燃煤电厂汞及其他有毒污染物的排放限制。随着美国人工智能数据中心建设推动电力需求增长，这一举措使《汞及有毒气体排放标准》被大幅削弱。

新规将相关标准回调至2012年奥巴马政府最初制定的水平。据美国环保署文件显示，放宽监管后预计从2028年起每年可为行业节省7800万美元。环保组织"地球正义"律师尼古拉斯·莫拉莱斯指出："政府为节省煤炭行业成本，正在消除保护儿童免受汞等毒素侵害的关键健康防护措施。"

值得关注的是，美国近半数汞排放来自燃煤电厂。汞作为神经毒素，高浓度暴露可能导致新生儿缺陷、儿童学习障碍，并对肾脏和神经系统造成损害。当前全美电力需求因数据中心扩张、本土制造业复苏及电动汽车普及持续攀升，而政策转向却使发电行业污染管控趋于宽松。

特朗普政府近期持续推行能源领域去监管化，旨在加速数据中心及其配套化石燃料基础设施的建设。总统本人本月还接受了华盛顿煤炭俱乐部颁发的"清洁煤炭无可争议冠军"奖项。尽管天然气和可再生能源已使煤电占比大幅下降，但特朗普第二届任期内已下令至少八座原定退役的燃煤电厂继续运行。

电力需求激增正改变能源行业格局。全美最大公共事业公司田纳西河流域管理局上周以数据中心用电增长为由，决定延长两座燃煤电厂的运营期限。分析指出，科技公司为扩建高耗能AI数据中心，客观上延长了老化发电设施的服役周期，这与政府放松环保监管的政策形成叠加效应。

中文翻译：

特朗普政府刚刚推翻了拜登时期对燃煤电厂汞及其他有毒污染物的排放限制。随着美国新建人工智能数据中心导致电力需求攀升，政府撤销了《汞及空气有毒物质标准》。

在人工智能产业推高能耗之际，特朗普正使燃煤电厂污染加剧

当生成式人工智能与特朗普政府共同推动老旧燃煤电厂重启时，美国正在降低对电厂污染的管控标准。

这些标准对于控制燃煤电厂污染尤为重要——全美近半数的汞排放源自此类电厂。汞作为神经毒素，高浓度暴露可能导致新生儿缺陷与儿童学习障碍，还会损害肾脏与神经系统。

特朗普的放松管制行动旨在加速新建数据中心及其配套化石燃料基础设施

然而，随着数据中心、本土制造业和电动汽车发展推高全国用电需求，特朗普政府却使发电过程更加污染环境。前总统特朗普通过大规模放松管制，试图为新建数据中心及其配套燃煤电厂等化石燃料基础设施扫清障碍。

非营利环保法律组织"地球正义"的律师尼古拉斯·莫拉莱斯在今日声明中指出："特朗普政府为给煤炭行业节省资金，正在废除保护儿童免受汞等毒素侵害的关键健康防护措施。"

美国环境保护署最终废除了拜登政府于2024年强化的《汞及空气有毒物质标准》，将其恢复至2012年奥巴马政府最初实施的水平。根据环保署文件，弱化该法规预计将从2028年起每年节省7800万美元。

本月初，特朗普接受了华盛顿煤炭俱乐部颁发的首届"洁净美丽煤炭无可争议冠军"奖项。尽管燃气电厂与太阳能、风能等可再生能源因成本优势导致美国燃煤发电量锐减，但特朗普自第二任期以来已下令至少八座原定退役的燃煤电厂继续运行。

试图扩张高耗能人工智能数据中心规模的科技公司，也在延长老旧电厂的服役期限。上周，美国最大公共事业机构田纳西河谷管理局以数据中心电力需求增长为由，决定让两座燃煤电厂继续运营而非按计划关停。

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英文来源：

The Trump administration just tossed out Biden-era restrictions on mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants. It’s repealing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) just as electricity demand in the US ticks up with the buildout of new AI data centers.
Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
The US is lowering its standards for power plant pollution while generative AI and the Trump administration revive old coal plants.
The US is lowering its standards for power plant pollution while generative AI and the Trump administration revive old coal plants.
Those standards are particularly impactful when it comes to pollution from coal plants responsible for around half of mercury emissions in the US. Mercury is a neurotoxin; high exposure has been linked to birth defects and learning disabilities in children. Exposure can also impact the kidneys and nervous system.
Trump’s deregulation spree aims to make it easier to quickly construct new data centers and fossil fuel infrastructure to power them
And yet the Trump administration is making power generation dirtier as the nation’s electricity needs grow with more data centers, domestic manufacturing, and electric vehicles. President Donald Trump’s deregulation spree aims to make it easier to quickly construct new data centers and fossil fuel infrastructure to power them — including coal plants.
“The Trump administration is wiping out health protections critical for protecting children from toxins like mercury just to save the coal industry some money,” Nicholas Morales, an attorney with nonprofit environmental law group Earthjustice, said in a press release today.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its repeal of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that the Biden administration strengthened in 2024. The Trump administration is rolling the standards back to where they were in 2012 when the Obama administration initially instituted them. Weakening the regulations is supposed to save $78 million each year starting in 2028, according to an EPA fact sheet.
Earlier this month, Trump accepted the Washington Coal Club’s inaugural “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful, Clean Coal” award. Power generation from coal has fallen sharply in the US as gas-fired power plants and renewables like solar and wind became more cost competitive. But since his second term in office, Trump has ordered at least eight coal plants slated to retire to stay online.
Tech companies trying to scale up energy-hungry AI data centers are also extending the lifespans of aging power plants. Last week, the Tennessee Valley Authority — the largest public utility in the US — decided to keep two coal plant open instead of retiring them, citing growing power demand from data centers.
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