After a year of fierce activism and demands, RGISC and Clean Air Laredo Coalition members celebrate this first step but call for greater protections
Midwest Sterilization in Laredo still ranks among the most polluting facilities in the nation
LAREDO, TX - In a major development regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) oversight of cancer-causing emissions from commercial sterilizer plants like Midwest Sterilization Corp. in Laredo, the federal agency announced two proposed rules on Tuesday morning.
The long-awaited announcement comes nearly six months after the Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC) filed a lawsuit in federal district court through Earthjustice with four other plaintiffs against the EPA over its failure to update emissions standards from medical sterilizer facilities in nearly two decades, missing two critical deadlines: first in 2014 and again in 2022.
“These proposed rules are the first step to addressing elevated and unnecessary cancer risks that Laredo and other impacted communities face from facilities like Midwest Sterilization,” said Sheila Serna, RGISC Climate Science & Policy Director, who is overseeing a groundbreaking fenceline air monitoring project around Midwest with local government partners through the Clean Air Laredo Coalition. “However, we have more work ahead of us to make sure that the final rules are as protective as possible.”
The newly proposed rules require that 86 of 96 commercial sterilizers across the country reduce the maximum individual cancer risk for nearby residents to 100-in-1 million (1 in 10,000) or lower. Currently, Laredo ranks among the top 23 most vulnerable communities nationally due to the significantly high volume of emissions from Midwest. Children at many Laredo campuses, public and private, are exposed to some of the worst air toxicity in the country due to these harmful ethylene oxide emissions.
“Today, residents of Laredo are a step closer to breathing cleaner air,” said Laredo City Council member Vanessa Perez, who co-founded the Clean Air Laredo Coalition in 2021. “It’s the EPA’s mission to ensure our air is safe to breathe. We are relying on the EPA’s ruling to move the country in the right direction for environmental protection and justice.”
Also on Tuesday, the EPA released shocking results of a new cancer risk assessment of employees at industrial sterilizer facilities across the country that shows an unprecedented 1-in-10 risk for developing cancer due to the negligent use of ethylene oxide. The agency is revamping its standards regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers at these facilities.
“This is heartbreaking. We need the EPA to start the phase-out of this extremely dangerous chemical to protect the lives of workers that, for the most part, are unaware of what they are being exposed to,” said Tricia Cortez, RGISC executive director. “Other internationally recognized sterilization methods exist that don’t endanger so many lives.”
Additionally, the newly proposed rules require that sterilizers:
While Tuesday’s announcement is a major first step forward, Clean Air Laredo members have pointed out that the newly proposed rules fall short in two critical areas:
The public will have an opportunity to attend a national Webinar on May 1, and submit comments to the EPA shortly thereafter.
“This will be the moment for people in our community who care deeply about protecting our children and families to demand that the EPA include fenceline air monitoring and warehouse emissions into the final rule,” Serna said. “That is absolutely necessary to safeguard our health and safety.”.
About Ethylene Oxide (EtO)
EtO is one of the most toxic air pollutants that the EPA regulates. It is a mutagenic, colorless, typically odorless, and flammable gas used to make products like antifreeze and plastics and sterilize some spices. Industrial facilities like Midwest Sterilization use ethylene oxide for medical equipment. EtO is a Class 1 human carcinogen that is particularly harmful when inhaled. In 2016, the EPA updated its toxicity value and announced that the chemical is 60 times more toxic than previously estimated. Despite knowing that emissions from commercial sterilizer facilities pose an elevated cancer risk in Laredo and other communities, EPA had not reviewed its rules for sterilizers since 2006.
Website: www.cleanairlaredo.org | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Founded in 1994, RGISC is a 501c3 research and advocacy environmental nonprofit based in Laredo, dedicated to protecting and preserving our only source of drinking water, the Rio Grande, and local environment for present lives and future generations.
Agency to focus on elevated cancer risks from carcinogenic emissions by Midwest Sterilization Corp.
LAREDO, TX - As part of a national rollout to meet with the most vulnerable communities living near commercial sterilizer facilities - based on cancer level risks - the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a community townhall in Laredo, its first such meeting in Region 6 since announcing this new outreach effort earlier this summer.
The event will take place THURSDAY, September 15 at 6:30 pm at the TAMIU Fine & Performing Arts Recital Hall. Interpreters will be on-hand to provide live translation in Spanish.
The Clean Air Laredo Coalition - which was formed last year to address the cancer threat from ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions - encourages parents, elected officials, and all members of the community to attend, ask questions, and get informed. EtO is a mutagenic DNA-damaging gas. Midwest Sterilization Corp., a Jackson, Missouri-based company, opened in Laredo in 2005 and has emitted thousands of pounds into our air every year.
The EPA “plans to engage with communities facing the highest risk to hear about their concerns and answer their questions as we share details about this risk assessment, community risk, and efforts to reduce this risk,” according to their Website.
EtO is known to cause cancer when people breathe it in over the course of many years. It is especially known to increase their risk of cancers of the blood (i.e. non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia) and, in women, breast cancer. EtO is one of the most severe air toxics regulated by the EPA. It is 60 times more toxic to children, and 30 times more toxic to adults than previously estimated, according to the federal agency.
Using self-reported data by industry, “EPA scientists and analysts recently completed a risk assessment for communities near the approximately 100 commercial sterilizers currently operating in the United States.” The EPA is now engaging communities where risks is highest based on companies that are contributing to elevated cancer risks at or above 100 additional cancer cases per 1 million (1-per-10,000). Click here to view a list of the top 23 highest priority facilities in the nation. Laredo is one of two in Texas.
In the next few months, the EPA will issue a new rule under the Clean Air Act that is expected to overhaul the amount of ethylene oxide emissions allowed by industry. At that time, the public will be invited to review and comment on thes proposed rule.
WHO & WHAT: Community Meeting by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
WHEN: Thursday, September 15 @ 6:30PM
WHERE: TAMIU Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall (5201 University Blvd)
DETAILS: Free and open to public. Live translation in Spanish available. Click link to Register for Event
The Clean Air Laredo Coalition is a group of concerned citizens, parents, elected officials and local governing entities such as the City of Laredo, Webb County, United ISD and Laredo ISD that seeks to address elevated cancer risks in Laredo by removing ethylene oxide from the air that we breathe.
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Clean Air Laredo Coalition is looking for volunteers to help with door-to-door canvassing!
On September 10 & 11, we will be going door-to-door posting flyers meant to inform our community and persuade them to attend the EPA community meeting this September 15th 2022 at the TAMIU Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.
Volunteers will receive 5 hours of community service for every shift 🤝
You can sign up to volunteer HERE
