I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7168 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, as 

required by section 112(d)(6) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

7412(d)(6)), to review and revise as necessary the emissions standards 

for sources of ethylene oxides, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2018 

Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

Agency, as required by section 112(d)(6) of the Clean 

Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(d)(6)), to review and revise 

as necessary the emissions standards for sources of ethylene oxides, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Up EtO Act 

5 of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Ethylene oxide is a human carcinogen that 

2 causes increased cancer risk at very low concentra3 tions in air. 

4 (2) The Environmental Protection Agency pro5 duced a cancer risk estimate due to ethylene oxide 

6 inhalation in 1985 and again in 2016. Due to sig7 nificant advances in our scientific understanding of 

8 ethylene oxide carcinogenicity, the risk estimate in9 creased by a factor of 30 over that period of time. 

10 (3) The Environmental Protection Agency has 

11 not updated its National Emissions Standards for 

12 Hazardous Air Pollutants for ethylene oxide steri13 lization facilities or hospital ethylene oxide sterilizers 

14 since the 2016 risk estimate was published. 

15 (4) According to the Environmental Protection 

16 Agency’s most recent National Air Toxics Assess17 ment, ethylene oxide is the biggest contributor to 

18 cancer risk in 93 out of the top 100 census tracts 

19 in the country with the highest cancer risk due to 

20 air pollution. In 58 of those tracts, the cancer risk 

21 due to ethylene oxide is greater than 100 cases per 

22 million people, the level at which the Agency con23 siders an air pollutant to pose a public health threat 

24 beyond an ample margin of safety. 


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1 (5) Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 112) requires the Environmental Protection Agency 

3 to revise emissions standards for hazardous air pol4 lutants no less often than every 8 years, yet the 

5 standard for ethylene oxide sterilization facilities was 

6 last updated in 2006 and the standard for hospital 

7 ethylene oxide sterilizers was last updated in 2007. 

8 (6) In 2001, the Environmental Protection 

9 Agency eliminated the requirement that ethylene 

10 oxide sterilization facilities control emissions from 

11 their sterilization chamber vents. Emissions from 

12 those vents are a significant contributor to the ele13 vated cancer risk estimated in the National Air 

14 Toxics Assessment. 

15 (7) The current National Emissions Standards 

16 for Hazardous Air Pollutants for ethylene oxide 

17 sterilizers and hospital ethylene oxide sterilizers do 

18 not protect public health with an adequate margin of 

19 safety. 

20 SEC. 3. REVIEW AND REVISION OF EMISSIONS STANDARDS 

21 FOR SOURCES OF ETHYLENE OXIDES. 

22 Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, as required by section 112(d)(6) of the Clean 

24 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(d)(6)), the Administrator of the 

25 Environmental Protection Agency shall— 


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1 (1) review the emissions standards promulgated 

2 under section 112(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 7412(d)) for sources of ethylene oxides; 

4 (2) promulgate a final rule revising such stand5 ards as necessary; and 

6 (3) include in such final rule emissions stand7 ards under section 112(d)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 7412) to control the emission of ethylene oxides 

9 from chamber exhaust vents. 

Æ 


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