Lipinski and House Colleagues Question EPA Actions Taken to Undermine EtO Health Risk Assessment

Statement

Congressmen Dan Lipinski (IL-03), along with Reps. Susan Wild (PA-07), Sean Casten (IL-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Cedric Richmond (LA-02), today sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler expressing concern that the EPA is not considering the best available health science while regulating the emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO), a known human carcinogen.

In 2016, the EPA updated its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) risk assessment for the first time in almost 30 years and found that the cancer risks associated with exposure to EtO, which is emitted by medical sterilization facilities and other industrial sources around the country, are much higher than were previously thought. This new information led to Congressman Lipinski, and many of his colleagues, to call for stronger regulations on EtO emissions to better protect public health. But under a new proposed rule, the EPA is considering using a risk value proposed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that is more than 1000 times weaker than the IRIS value.

In their letter to Wheeler, the Members point out that the EPA's own website describes IRIS assessments as "the preferred source of toxicity information used by EPA." They also asked Wheeler to respond and provide justification if the EPA is no longer using the IRIS assessment as its preferred source.

"We've known since the IRIS assessment was published that people all over the country, including those living near Sterigenics in my own district, were at risk of developing cancer due to exposure to EtO," said Lipinski. "I was alarmed to see that the EPA is considering ignoring its own health assessment for EtO when updating these regulations. Though my district is no longer affected by EtO, other communities in the Chicago area and around the country still are exposed. EPA must update federal regulations to reflect the best available health science."