EPA’s Sterilizer EtO Rule Bucks Environmentalists’ Calls For Stiffer Mandates

EPA’s final air rule limiting ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions from commercial sterilizers sets stringent emissions limits, but also rejects calls from environmentalists and Democratic states for regulation of off-site warehouses and for fenceline air monitoring, and extends the compliance timeline far beyond what was proposed. In the final rule unveiled March 14, EPA said it would not regulate EtO releases at warehouses because they are not part of the source category. In addition, it said it would not require fenceline...