EPA Proposes Weaker Limits on Cancer-Linked Gas at Florida Facilities

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Friday to weaken air pollution limits on ethylene oxide, a chemical used to sterilize roughly half of all medical devices, reversing a Biden administration rule that targeted the cancer-causing gas at nearly 90 commercial sterilization facilities nationwide.

The Biden-era rule, finalized in 2024, was designed to cut ethylene oxide emissions by about 90 percent. It required facilities to monitor air quality and verify that pollution controls were functioning properly. The Trump EPA's proposal would roll back those requirements. The agency argues the existing standards "actively threaten" manufacturers' abilities to sterilize equipment and "jeopardize one of America's only options for a secure domestic supply chain of essential medical equipment."

Treasure Coast residents who rely on medical devices — including the region's large population of retirees who depend on pacemakers, catheters and surgical equipment sterilized with ethylene oxide — could be affected if the rollback disrupts or alters the medical supply chain. Florida has no commercial ethylene oxide sterilization facilities identified in the EPA's 2024 action, but residents statewide receive medical devices processed at facilities in other states.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended the proposal in a statement: "The Trump EPA is committed to ensuring life-saving medical devices remain available for the critical care of America's children, elderly and all patients without unnecessary exposure to communities." The American Lung Association pushed back sharply. "The science shows that both short-term and long-term exposure to ethylene oxide is dangerous for health," said Laura Kate Bender, the association's national vice president. "No one should have to live with elevated cancer risk because of air pollution in their community." Environmental justice advocates noted that many ethylene oxide facilities are disproportionately located in minority communities.

The EPA first classified ethylene oxide as a human carcinogen in 2016. Long-term exposure has been linked to leukemia, breast cancer and lymphoma, according to the agency. The Friday proposal is the latest in a series of deregulatory actions. In February, the agency weakened mercury restrictions from coal-fired power plants and repealed the scientific underpinning of U.S. greenhouse gas regulations. The proposed rule will be subject to a public comment period before any final action is taken.

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