The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday proposed rejecting an industry request to change the findings it uses on the risks posed by a chemical the agency considers to be cancer-causing.
In a new proposal, the agency said that it wants to stick by its 2016 findings on the dangers of inhaling ethylene oxide, which underpin 2020 regulations on the substance.
In doing so, it is snubbing requests from industry to instead use an assessment from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which found the substance to be significantly less dangerous than the EPA did.
Industry has pushed back against the Trump-era regulation on ethylene oxide, which is used to make other chemicals and sterilize medical equipment.
A petition from the American Chemistry Council, which had asked the EPA to use the Texas finding, has noted that if the agency had done so, it may have ultimately decided against more regulation.
But, environmentalists have raised concerns about the Texas finding and sued to try to make the state release documents used as the technical basis for it.
The EPA in its latest decision said that the Texas assessment and requests for reconsideration “do not provide a scientifically supportable basis” for relying on the state’s finding.
In a statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan
Michael ReganThe Hill’s Morning Report – US warns Kremlin, weighs more troops to Europe Overnight Energy & Environment — Biden officials announce clean energy plans EPA to assess health impacts of leaded aircraft fuel MORE said the agency was taking this action to protect communities.
“People living near chemical plants are increasingly concerned about exposure to ethylene oxide, and the science shows it is a potent air toxic posing serious health risks,” he said in a statement. “Today we reinforce and advance EPA’s commitment to protect overburdened communities by following the best available science and data.”
