Lake County’s congressional reps ask EPA to tighten regulation of ethylene oxide emissions
As a new administrator takes charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, members of Congress representing Lake County want to see increased scrutiny over the emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO), a known carcinogen.
Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, and Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, are among eight members of Congress who sent a letter to new EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan on July 1 urging him to issue consistent regulations protecting against EtO.
Underwood, Casten and Schneider are part of a nine-member bipartisan Congressional Ethylene Oxide Task Force consisting of representatives from communities impacted by EtO emissions, such as those which come from a plant in Waukegan and another in Gurnee.
"We have been working on this for a while," Schneider, who co-chairs the task force with Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., said in an interview Tuesday. "It is very important. EtO is a proven carcinogen and we have to take the opportunity to stop its emission every chance we have."
Inconsistency arose in the regulation of EtO when the EPA funded ambient air monitoring in 2018 at a Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook emitting the chemical. It failed to do the same at a Medline factory in Waukegan and a Vantage Specialty Chemicals plant in Gurnee, according to the letter.
"We have been calling on the EPA to exercise the same due diligence in the communities we represent and to keep public health at the forefront of the agency's EtO rulemaking," the members of Congress wrote.
Casten said in an email Tuesday he spent much of his time when first elected to Congress in 2018 fighting lax environmental policies of the administration of former President Donald Trump. Casten hopes Regan, who began leading the EPA in March, will take a stronger approach.
"Public health must be at the forefront of the EPA's decision making, period, so the news that the Trump EPA withheld information from us — and more importantly from the public — raises gravely serious concerns," Casten said.
EtO emissions from the Medline and Vantage plants showed similar levels to those at the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook, according to a 2018 Chicago Tribune story.
Underwood said she sees nothing complicated seeking regulations of dangerous substances being emitted into the air. She said she has made it a priority since she was elected to Congress in 2018. Promises were made by federal officials for clean air in Lake County and she wants them kept.
"It's simple," Underwood said in an email. "Americans should have clean and safe air to breathe. But Ethylene Oxide emissions remain a threat to public health in my community and too many others."
While a spokesperson for Deerfield-based Vantage declined to comment, Jesse Greenberg, Medline's public affairs director, said in an email Illinois imposed the most stringent EtO restrictions in the country with 2019 legislation. The company has complied.
"We are proud that today Medline's Waukegan facility has the most advanced emissions control system in the nation, and all our emissions data is submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and is publicly available," Greenberg said in the email.
In their letter to the EPA, the representatives said they want to work with the agency as a resource to help establish consistent regulations. They requested a meeting between Regan and the task force.
Public health must be the top priority when regulations are written controlling EtO, the members said in their letter, because the "EPA has a responsibility to assure communities affected by industrial EtO use that the air they breathe is safe."
Ambient air monitoring, not computer modeling must be used to measure the EtO level in the air around manufacturing facilities which use the chemical, according to the letter, because it is the only way to accurately determine EtO levels in a community.
Community engagement is another recommendation to the EPA from the task force, offering in the letter to be a "resource and potential partner for connecting with" communities like Waukegan and Gurnee.
Task force members also cautioned Regan from relying too heavily on the industrialists when crafting regulations. Since EtO is used in medical device sterilization, the task force members want the EPA regulations to deal with the diversity of the medical device sterilization supply chain.
Underwood said in her email she wants public officials in the areas around plants using EtO informed about testing results. Casten and Schneider also emphasize the need for clean air for the country.
"I will continue working to ensure our federal government does what's necessary to protect clean air and drinking water for every American," Casten said in the email.
"I want to make sure the rulemaking is committed to safe, healthy air," Schneider added.
While task force members stressed the need to rely on science and testing rather than suggestions from companies in the industry, Greenberg said Medline is not opposed to the rulemaking.
"We strongly support a federal regulatory standard that upholds safety and look forward to its implementation to ensure public health is protected," he said.
Source: Steve Sadin