EPA issues new limits on chemical plant pollution
More than 200 chemical plants across the country will be required to curb the toxic pollutants they release into the air under a regulation announced by the Biden administration Tuesday.
The regulation is aimed at reducing the risk of cancer for people living near industrial sites. This is the first time in nearly two decades that the government has tightened limits on pollution from chemical plants.
The new rule, from the Environmental Protection Agency, specifically targets ethylene oxide, which is used to sterilize medical devices, and chloroprene, which is used to make rubber in footwear.
The EPA has classified the two chemicals as likely carcinogens. They are considered a top health concern in an area of Louisiana so dense with petrochemical and refinery plants that it is known as Cancer Alley.
Most of the facilities affected by the rule are in Texas, Louisiana and elsewhere along the
Gulf Coast as well as in the Ohio River Valley and West Virginia. Communities in proximity to the plants are often disproportionately Black or Latino and have elevated rates of cancer, respiratory problems and premature deaths.
Michael S. Regan, the administrator of the EPA, traveled last year to St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana, the heart of Cancer Alley, to announce his agency's intention to limit pollution from the plants.
In a telephone call with reporters Monday, Regan recalled that he had been struck by the concentration of chemical plants and by the way they had affected families for decades.
“I saw firsthand how the multigenerational and widespread effects of pollution were affecting the health of the local community,” Regan said.
He said that the rule would cut toxic pollutants by 6,200 tons annually and reduce emissions of ethylene oxide and chloroprene by 80%.
Under the rule, chemical manufacturers must monitor vents and storage tanks for ethylene oxide and chloroprene emissions and plug any leaks.
Plants will also be required to reduce emissions of four other toxic chemicals: benzene, which is used in motor fuels as well as oils and paints; 1,3-butadiene, which is used to make synthetic rubber and plastics; and ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride, both of which are used to make a variety of plastics and vinyl products.
One year after monitoring begins, facilities will be required to submit quarterly data to the EPA. The data will be made public so that communities can understand any risks they face.
Patrice Simms, vice president for litigation for healthy communities at Earthjustice, an environmental group, said it was impossible to overstate the importance of the new regulation to families that live next to large polluting facilities.
“In a very real sense this is about life and death,” he said.