Chemical companies will have to take additional measures to plug releases of the carcinogenic ethylene oxide gas and other toxic air pollutants, in the first update to the sector’s hazardous pollutant standards in more than a decade.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s rule (RIN 2060–AT85), released Monday, requires chemical manufacturing facilities to plug ethylene oxide releases from storage tanks, process vents, and equipment.
“EPA evaluated the risks posed by air toxics from this source category and determined cancer risks for this source category to be unacceptable,” the agency said in a press release. It deemed ethylene oxide a carcinogen ...