EPA Unveils New Regulations to Cut Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide Emissions from Medical Sterilization Plants.

EPA has announced new regulations to reduce releases of a cancer-causing compound from medical equipment sterilization plants, often located in heavily populated and marginalized communities. The rule, stronger in some respects than a draft version released last year, aims to cut emissions of ethylene oxide by sterilization facilities by more than 90 percent and reduce the lifetime cancer risk for nearby residents below a key Clean Air Act threshold of one additional cancer case per 10,000 people. The regulations apply to 88 existing plants and two under construction. The Union of Concerned Scientists reported that about 14 million people live within 5 miles of sterilization or chemical plants that release ethylene dioxide, almost 60 percent of whom were people of color. The new regulations are the first update to hazardous air pollutant standards for the commercial sterilization industry since 1994 and arrive a decade after a statutory deadline for EPA to review their adequacy. However, opposition to the rules faced strong opposition from the medical supply industry, with some believing higher compliance costs could force smaller plants to close.