EPA Sets Long-Needed Updated Air Toxics Standards for Chemical Manufacturers, but Punts on Ethylene Oxide Emissions Limits

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule on Wednesday updating air toxics standards for chemical manufacturing area sources. While the rule includes long-needed revisions to the standards, which were last revised in 2009 and 2012, EPA yielded to industry pressure by deferring a final decision on ethylene oxide limits for the 33 facilities that emit the notorious carcinogen. EPA has stated that it needs “additional time” to consider comments and that it will take final action in the future. Meanwhile, these 33 facilities will continue to emit ethylene oxide unchecked, with increased cancer risk and health effects for communities. 

“The EPA’s final rule for chemical manufacturing area sources is a shameful betrayal of the Trump administration’s health promises and the agency’s specific commitment to communities that it would finally set long-overdue protections on these facilities’ excess emissions of cancer-causing ethylene oxide,” said Adam Kron, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “The EPA claims that it will take final action on these ethylene oxide standards at a future undefined date, while residents, workers, and children near these facilities are exposed to toxic emissions and face increased cancer risk in the meantime. Once again, this is more proof that the Trump administration values industry profits over the health of communities and children.” 

The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to review and revise its emission standards as necessary at least every eight years. The standards cover hundreds of facilities in various chemical manufacturing sectors, including synthetic organic chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, agricultural chemical manufacturing, and pesticides manufacturing. In addition to the long-overdue review and revisions, another shortcoming of the existing standards is that they entirely fail to set standards for emissions of ethylene oxide, a highly toxic pollutant that EPA found in 2016 to have a cancer risk nearly 60 times greater than previously known. 

Because of this delay, Earthjustice sued EPA on behalf of nine community and advocacy organizations in May 2022, ultimately reaching a consent decree with EPA that included court-ordered deadlines for EPA’s review of the standards. This lawsuit also followed on reports by EPA’s own Office of Inspector General regarding EPA’s failure to regulate ethylene oxide emissions from chemical manufacturing area sources. Those reports urged the EPA to update its air toxics standards (NESHAPs) to cover ethylene oxide and review the health risks from such emissions. 

 The EPA responded by proposing new rules for 251 facilities and special limits for 33 that emit ethylene oxide, including the first limits on that chemical and requirements to monitor air around the plants. But in the final version, the EPA only updated general rules for all 251 facilities and delayed any specific controls on ethylene oxide, even though some of those facilities still release it. 

Earthjustice’s clients in the lawsuit against EPA include California Communities Against Toxics, Clean Air Council, Clean Power Lake County, Delaware Concerned Residents for Environmental Justice, Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution, Kentucky Resources Council, New Castle Prevention Coalition, United Congregations of Metro-East, and Sierra Club. Additionally, the Coming Clean Network, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Integrity Project, Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, RiSE for Environmental Justice, and Union of Concerned Scientists joined comments on EPA’s proposed rule.