EPA and Trump Administration move to weaken air pollution limits on cancer causing chemical many Black and Brown people have been exposed to

The Biden era policy moved to reduce emissions by nearly 90 percent as the chemical, when exposed to it long-term by breathing it in, can cause various cancers including leukemia and elevate risks for breast cancer and lymphoma.

The Enviromental Protection Agency is moving to reverse a Biden administration finding of high cancer risks at manufactuing facilities by weakening air pollution limits on a chemical used to sterlize medial equipment.

The chemical, ethylene oxide, is used to clean medical devices like catheters and syringes. However, its plants across the country have primarily been placed in Black and Brown communities, where many have been exposed to the cancer-causing chemical. One company, Sterigenics, shuttered a medical sterilzation plan in Chicago after emissions spikes were discovered in nearby neighborhoods, prompting several lawsuits it eventually settled.

According to the EPA, the agency is concerned the Biden-era standards surrounding ethylene oxide “actively threaten” manufactuers’ abilities ot sterilize equipment and “jeopardize one of America’s only options for a secure domestic supply chain of essential medical equipment.” Ethylene oxide is considered crucial in terms of sterilizing medical devices such as pacemakers and syringes.

However, long-term exposure to the chemical can cause leukemia and elevates risks of breast cancer and lymphoma among individuals who work at medical sterilization facilities or live close to them.

The new rule, according to EPA head Lee Zeldin, would show the agency’s commitment to protecting people’s health while simultaneously stabilizing the domestic medical supply chain.

“The Trump EPA is committed to ensuring life-saving medical devices remain available for the critical care of America’s children, elderly and all patients without unnecessary exposure to communities,” he said in a statement.

Under the Trump Administration, several moves have been orchestrated to relax pollution limits and lower costs for the medical industry. In February, the agency weakened restrictions on mercury from coal-burning power plants, repealed a scientific finding that was the core basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emission and help the fight agaisnt climate change.

Under Biden, the EPA’s 2024 ruliing on ethylene oxide emissions intended to reduce them by nearly 90 percent by targeting about 90 commercial sterilization facilities across the country. The rule also required companies to test for the chemical in the air and ensure pollution controls were properly functioning. Any change to the rule would be unacceptable, according to the American Lung Association.

“The science shows that both short-term and long-term exposure to ethylene oxide is dangerous for health,” Laura Kate Bender, the association’s vice president, said. “People who live near many commercial sterilization facilities are much more likely to develop cancer over their lifetimes. No one should have to live with elevated cancer risk because of air pollution in their community.”