The EPA will propose to update a 25-year-old emissions standard for ethylene oxide, a carcinogen, the agency said in an April 10 statement.
The announcement comes amid protests about increased emissions of the chemical discovered at monitoring stations around the Sterigenics U.S. LLC facility in Willowbrook, Ill., which uses ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency effectively shut down the plant with a seal order prohibiting use of the gas at that facility, a move Sterigenics is challenging in court. The company maintains that it has not violated its Clean Air Act permit limits for the ...