Laredo residents who live near a sterilization plant say the new federal limits on the pollutant will improve air quality and reduce their city’s high cancer risk.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued a rule to slash toxic emissions from commercial sterilization facilities that have posed an increased lifetime cancer risk to residents who live near them. These facilities release fumes of ethylene oxide, labeled by the federal agency as “one of the most potent cancer-causing chemicals.”
Facilities would be required to install pollution-control equipment, conduct continuous emissions monitoring and file quarterly reports to the EPA. “We were completely unaware. And to this day, I think many still are not fully aware of what's right there and how dangerous this chemical is,” said Tricia Cortez, a Laredo resident and executive director of the environmental nonprofit Rio Grande International Study Center on Thursday.Cortez said that her community has been waiting a long time for EPA’s new rule and that their decision to reduce emissions means a lot to her and her community.
Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, a group that lobbies for the interests of medical device manufacturers, said in an email Thursday the group is still examining the new rule’s full impact, but warned that new regulations could cause problems for patients by creating treatment and surgical delays.
“No one should have to live with elevated cancer risk because of air pollution in their community,” Wimmer said in a press release. While Brown sees EPA’s new rules as a great first step, he said he was disappointed to see that the agency will no longer require commercial sterilization facilities to obtain a “major” source permit, which requires more stringent pollution standards requirements and a review from federal regulators in addition to state regulators, and more opportunities for public participation.
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