Title: A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to revise certain ethylene oxide emissions standards under the Clean Air Act, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to amend its regulations to revise the standards for the emission of ethylene oxide. Specifically, regulations must be revised based on results from the National Center for Environmental Assessment report titled “Evaluation of the Inhalation Carcinogenicity of Ethylene Oxide.”
The bill also requires revisions to apply maximum achievable control technology requirements to chamber exhaust vents. Maximum achievable control technology standards are established for sources of hazardous air pollutants to limit or control emissions.
The EPA must notify the public of violations under the revised standards, and failure to do so will result in an investigation to assess the health risks and prevent a future failure of notification.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 458 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 458

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 revise certain ethylene oxide emissions standards under the Clean Air 
                      Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2019

  Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
 revise certain ethylene oxide emissions standards under the Clean Air 
                      Act, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. ETHYLENE OXIDE EMISSIONS STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (referred to in this section as the 
``Administrator'') shall amend--
            (1) subparts O and FFFF of part 63 of title 40, Code of 
        Federal Regulations, to revise the standards for the emission 
        of ethylene oxide under those subparts based on the results 
        described in the report of the National Center for 
        Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Agency 
        entitled ``Evaluation of the Inhalation Carcinogenicity of 
        Ethylene Oxide'' and dated December 2016; and
            (2) subpart O of part 63 of title 40, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, to apply maximum achievable control technology 
        (within the meaning of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 
        seq.)) requirements to chamber exhaust vents.
    (b) Notification.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        Administrator learns of a violation of the standards revised 
        under subsection (a), the Administrator shall notify the public 
        of the violation in a manner determined to be appropriate by 
        the Administrator.
            (2) Failure to notify.--If the Administrator fails to 
        notify the public under paragraph (1) by the end of the period 
        described in that paragraph, the Inspector General of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency shall carry out an 
        investigation to determine--
                    (A) the reason or reasons for which the 
                Administrator failed to notify the public;
                    (B) the public health risks associated with the 
                failure of the Administrator to notify the public; and
                    (C) any steps the Administrator should take to 
                ensure the Administrator meets the requirements 
                described in paragraph (1) in the future.
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