The state of Minnesota uses EPA’s ethylene oxide emissions standards, which haven’t been updated since 2006. These standards no longer adequately protect the public.
that the risk value of ethylene oxide is 60 times more toxic than previously understood. While the agency has failed to update the rule as required under the Clean Air Act, last year, EPA identified 23 “elevated cancer risk” commercial sterilizers and is currently working to inform communities and work with state regulators and the facilities to decrease emissions. But much more is needed.
So, what does this have to do with Minnesota? And what about cumulative impacts? Well, when the EPA reviewed the 23 facilities, they reviewed them one at a time and none of the facilities in Minnesota were on the highest emitter list. But, the EPA analysis neglected the fact that sterilizer facilities emitting ethylene oxide might be within close proximity to one another.
In the EPA’s analysis, computer models were used to estimate air concentrations of ethylene oxide around facilities. These air concentrations were compared to “,” to estimate a potential number of cases of cancer in a population of people. So-called “acceptable levels of risk” are informational tools used to either require or ask facilities to reduce emissions, depending on the regulatory authority that applies.
Exposure to ethylene oxide by breathing it in the air is associated with cancers of white blood cells, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as breast cancers. The EPA, and other public health and environmental agencies, determine levels in the air that are considered safe for sensitive populations. In 2016, the EPA updated the air value for ethylene oxide using more recent and robust science.
and used by the agency to inform new environmental rules. These values are also available for use by tribal, state, and local public health and environmental agencies.There are two ways that government agencies can work to reduce toxic air emissions, through regulations or through voluntary pollution reduction measures. Government agencies have the power to engage in either or both activities.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why North Dakota Could Sue Minnesota Over Clean EnergyInterstate feuds threaten to complicate the already-difficult task of getting regional power grids off fossil fuels.
Read more »
Minnesota bill would create nation's first office investigating missing Black women, girlsCurrently, “national statistics tell us that over 60,000 Black women are missing, and Black women are twice as likely than they appear to be victims of homicide,” Brittney Lewis, co-founder of Research in Action, told Yahoo News.
Read more »
Transgender woman brutally assaulted near Minnesota rail station, suffers collapsed lung, brain bleedA transgender woman suffered a brain bleed, collapsed lung, and rib fracture after being brutally assaulted at a light rail station in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Read more »
Minnesota judge rules in favor of trans powerlifter seeking to compete against womenA Minnesota judge has ordered USA Powerlifting to allow male-born athletes who identify as female to compete in the women’s category, a victory for the transgender movement and defeat for advocates of single-sex sports.
Read more »
Minnesota announces WNBA Hall of Famer Lindsay Whalen will step down as head coachThe greatest player in Minnesota program history is stepping down as its head coach.
Read more »
Minnesota moves to crack down on catalytic converter theftsThe Minnesota Senate has voted to make it harder for thieves to sell stolen catalytic converters, a crime that has skyrocketed across the country in recent years.
Read more »