EPA Slams Industry Challenge Against Ethylene Oxide Rule (1)

Industry petitioners seeking to quash ethylene oxide limits rely on a “perverse” reading of clean air law that undermines the health-protective standards, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency filed its first reply brief in The Ethylene Oxide Sterilization Association Inc. v. EPA on Wednesday, defending its standards for the carcinogenic chemical ethylene oxide—or EtO—which are supported by an updated risk assessment that found cancer risks for the chemical much higher than an original 2006 estimate.

Industry and advocates are both targeting the rule at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit but for competing ...