Trump proposes to loosen rules for cancer-causing gas from sterilizer plants

The Trump administration proposed Friday to loosen rules surrounding emissions of a cancer-causing gas from sterilizer plants.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule to loosen requirements for sterilizer plants that emit a gas known as ethylene oxide.

The EPA says ethylene oxide can cause lymphoma, myeloma and lymphocytic leukemia, as well as breast cancer in women. In 2022, it identified elevated cancer risks in nearly two dozen communities located near plants that release this toxic gas.

In 2024, the Biden administration sought to cut down on sterilizer emissions by 90 percent. 

Now, the Trump administration says some of the emissions controls in that rule would no longer be applied. It says other requirements would be reduced if its proposal is finalized.

In a statement, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move was being made to prevent disruptions to the medical device supply chain, in which the chemical is used.

“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,” Zeldin said.

Last year, the Trump administration temporarily exempted about 40 plants from the standards.

The Biden administration previously said it would consider requests for exemptions to its rule for “exceptional circumstances” in which a sterilizer could show it would be unable to meet the standards.

Critics argued the Trump administration’s move could lead to more toxic exposures.

“This decision is a reckless and self-serving handout to big industry,” said Darya Minovi, a senior analyst for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, in a statement, also describing it as “an affront to communities that have unknowingly lived with ethylene oxide exposure for decades.”

“These actions show, yet again, that this administration has little to no regard for the health and welfare of working people or any interest in protecting children from exposure to toxic chemicals,” Minovi said.

In recent months, the Trump administration’s policies that are supportive of chemicals have met scrutiny not only from left-wing advocates, but also from activists in the GOP-aligned “Make America Healthy Again” movement.