The EPA Rejects Texas' More Lenient Standard for Highly Toxic Air Pollutant
As part of a sweeping announcement detailing strategies to crack down on toxic industrial air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week it was moving to formally reject Texas’ less protective standard for the potent carcinogen ethylene oxide and stick with its own scientific conclusions, a move that clears the way for significant reductions in emissions nationwide.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the decision after an investigation by ProPublica, in collaboration with the Texas Tribune, revealed that ethylene oxide, a low-odor, ubiquitous gas that is used to make everyday household items like dish soap, is contributing to the majority of the excess industrial cancer risk in the United States.
In 2016, nearly two decades after it began assessing ethylene oxide’s link to cancer, the EPA concluded that the chemical was 30 times more carcinogenic to people who continuously inhale it as adults and 50 times more carcinogenic to those who are exposed since birth than the agency previously thought.
Industry groups fought the EPA throughout the assessment process, arguing that ethylene oxide was far less harmful than agency scientists determined.
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2022/02/epa-rejects-texas-more-lenient-standard-highly-toxic-air-pollutant/361371/
