Bill Introduced To Update Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards

WILLOWBROOK, IL — Congressman Dan Lipinski has introduced legislation that would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to update emissions standards for ethylene oxide (EtO), a gas tied to high cancer risks in communities around the country, including those adjacent to the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook, according to a release from Lipinski's office.

According to a release, Lipinski’s bill, the Clean up EtO Act, directs the US EPA’s administrator to review and revise EtO emissions standards, which the federal agency was required by law to do four years ago but has failed to do.

“The USEPA’s out-of-date standard does not protect public health in a way required by the Clean
Air Act,” Lipinski said in a release. “Clean air, clean water, and a safe environment are top priorities and I will continue to advocate on behalf of people in my district and around the country living near facilities emitting ethylene oxide and other hazardous pollutants."

In September, Lipinski sent a letter to USEPA demanding that the Sterigenics plant be shut down
unless air testing could demonstrate that current emissions are not a health threat to those who live, work and go to school in the region, according to a release. Lipinski followed up with another letter last week demanding that the agency update its emissions regulation for EtO to make sure that plants such as this are not harming public health.

Image via Google Streetview.