Groups file suit over presidential exemptions for cancer-causing ethylene oxide
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of environmental and community groups challenged the Trump administration’s move to give commercial sterilizer facilities a free pass to spew cancer-causing chemicals. The exemptions granted by the Trump administration waive 2024 safeguards that lower cancer risks for people living near sterilizer facilities by more than 90 percent.
Studies show that sterilization of medical equipment using ethylene oxide can be done using safer chemicals without raising costs. Many of the facilities that received exemptions were already capable of complying with the stronger protections required under the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2024 standards.
The Southern Environmental Law Center and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) on behalf of CleanAIRE NC, Sustainable Newton, and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light filed a federal lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump administration’s use of presidential exemptions for commercial sterilizer facilities.
The Trump administration recently granted two-year renewable exemptions from these regulations for 40 sterilizer facilities nationwide, nine of which are located in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. All of these facilities are located near residential areas and primarily impact overburdened communities of color or communities in low-wealth areas. The EPA is also planning to weaken the protections altogether.
In March, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a process inviting regulated facilities to seek Clean Air Act “presidential exemptions.” The EPA subsequently posted instructions for submitting exemption requests, including a dedicated email address. Hundreds of the nation’s worst polluters emailed to ask for exemptions from major air toxics standards, including petrochemical plants, coal-fired power plants, coke ovens and commercial sterilizers.
In 2024, the EPA substantially strengthened the federal regulations governing ethylene oxide emissions from commercial sterilization facilities based on the results of scientific studies showing that this pollutant is 60 times more toxic than previously thought. The technology to control this pollution exists andis widely used. But the exemption proclamations say that the technology needed to meet these standards “is not available.”
Two of the commercial sterilizers that have received exemptions are Sterigenics in Charlotte, NC, and Sterilization Services of Virginia in Richmond, VA, both in predominantly Black and Brown communities.
More information about the Charlotte facility:
More information about the Richmond facility:
The following statements are from the environmental and community groups suing over these exemptions:
“The law is clear, the science is clear, and the technology to control dangerous ethylene oxide pollution exists today,” said Irena Como, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Many of these facilities have shown that they are capable of complying with stronger standards that are effective in better protecting communities, yet the Trump administration’s unlawful actions continue to create chaos at the expense of the health and safety of communities on the ground.”
“This administration is systematically looking for ways to let polluters off the hook,” said Sarah Buckley, senior attorney for NRDC. “If this abuse of authority is left unchecked, communities will pay the price in higher cancer risks. We’re challenging these cancer-causing sterilizer exemptions because people have a right to breathe safe air — and the government has a duty to enforce it.”
“These exemptions raise serious questions about whose health is being prioritized,” said Jeffrey Robbins, Executive Director of CleanAIRE NC. “We are talking about a known carcinogen being pumped into neighborhoods already overburdened by industrial pollution, where so many families live, learn, and play. To strip away these life-saving protections, which are already proven and working in facilities across the country, is a profound betrayal of the public trust.”
“We need to protect our neighbors and congregations from the very real health consequences of ethylene oxide exposure, especially frontline communities of color who unjustly carry the burden of polluting industries,” said Rev. Dr. Faith Harris, Executive Director of Virginia Interfaith Power & Light. “The residents living within a few miles of these toxic emissions already host more than their fair share of polluting industries. We are challenging these illegal and reckless attempts to cater to industry because we can’t afford to go backwards when it comes to our health and our livelihoods, and our neighbors deserve better.”
“Exempting sterilizer facilities from tighter emissions standards for EtO based solely on presumed compliance costs, while ignoring threats to public health and the environment, flies in the face of everything we’re working for,” said Maurice Carter, President of Sustainable Newton. “We joined this suit because we promised to protect the people of Newton County.”
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