(AGENPARL) – mar 09 aprile 2024 Issued: Apr 9, 2024 (9:30am EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Stronger Clean Air Standards for
Chemical Plants, Lowering Cancer Risk and Advancing Environmental Justice
Final rule will reduce the number of people with elevated cancer risk by 96%
in communities near plants that emit ethylene oxide and chloroprene, advancing
President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative
April 9, 2024
Contact Information
WASHINGTON – Today, April 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
issued a final rule that will significantly reduce toxic air pollution from
chemical plants, including ethylene oxide and chloroprene. EPA’s action will
advance President Biden’s commitment to environmental justice by slashing
more than 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year, dramatically reducing
the number of people with elevated cancer risk due to toxic air pollution in
communities surrounding plants covered by the rule. Once implemented, the rule
will reduce both EtO and chloroprene emissions from covered processes and
equipment by nearly 80%. A requirement for these facilities to conduct
fenceline monitoring for key toxic chemicals is included, and EPA will make
the data publicly available to better inform and safeguard nearby communities.
Today’s action is the latest in recent weeks to protect communities from EtO
pollution, following a final rule to dramatically reduce EtO emissions from
commercial sterilization facilities. Both rules advance the Biden Cancer
Moonshot, a commitment to ending cancer as we know it, while advancing
environmental justice in communities overburdened by toxic chemicals. 
Today’s final rule delivers critical health protections for communities that
Administrator Michael Regan visited as part of his Journey to Justice tour.
“President Biden believes every community in this country deserves to
breathe clean air. That’s why I took the Journey to Justice tour to
communities like St. John the Baptist Parish, where residents have borne the
brunt of toxic air for far too long,” said EPA Administrator Michael S.
Regan. “We promised to listen to folks that are suffering from pollution and
act to protect them. Today we deliver on that promise with strong final
standards to slash pollution, reduce cancer risk, and ensure cleaner air for
nearby communities.” 
“By issuing strong clean air standards and requiring companies to monitor
pollution at the fenceline, the Biden-Harris Administration is protecting
communities from toxic chemicals that can cause cancer and ensuring people
know what is in their air. This critical step advances President Biden’s
commitment to environmental justice for overburdened communities and will help
keep children safe from toxic chemical exposure,” said White House Council
on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory.
“This announcement is a monumental step towards safeguarding public health
and the environment. By slashing over 6,200 tons of toxic air pollutants
annually and implementing fenceline monitoring, this addresses health risks in
surrounding communities and promotes environmental justice in states like
Louisiana. With a substantial reduction of nearly 80% in emissions from
covered sources, this is a significant stride towards protecting current and
future generations from the harmful effects of these carcinogenic chemicals
and demonstrates a path forward for communities and industry to
coexist,” said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (LA-02).
“Today marks a victory in the pursuit for environmental justice, with the
final rule poised to significantly reduce the toxic air pollution that harms
communities in Texas’s Gulf Coast, Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, and
throughout the U.S.,” said Earthjustice Vice President for Healthy
Communities Patrice Simms. “Setting protective air standards for over 200
chemical plants and requiring fenceline monitoring for some of the most toxic
emissions shows a commitment to protecting public health. We look forward to
the EPA’s swift implementation and rigorous enforcement of this critical
rule.” 
Today’s action applies to certain equipment and processes at about 200
plants that make synthetic organic chemicals and a variety of polymers and
resins, including neoprene. Once implemented, it will reduce both EtO and
chloroprene emissions from covered processes and equipment by nearly 80%.
Long-term exposure to these two chemicals can increase the risk of certain
types of cancer, such as lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer and liver cancer.
EPA also expects the rule to better protect children, who are more exposed and
more susceptible to the effects of toxic chemicals including EtO and
chloroprene. 
The rule also reduces additional air toxics, such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene,
ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride. By cutting emissions of these
chemicals, the rule will reduce the risks of developing cancer from breathing
in toxic air pollutants. In addition, the rule will reduce smog-forming
volatile organic compounds by 23,700 tons a year.
The final rule will provide critical public health protections for
overburdened communities near covered plants. When EPA proposed the rule, it
conducted a first-of-its-kind community risk assessment to provide the
public with the best possible information about existing health risks from air
toxics exposure and how the proposal would affect them. That assessment
examined the air toxics-related risks from all large facilities in communities
within about six miles of the plants – including facilities that would not
be covered by the rule – to provide a more complete picture of the air
toxics-related risk in these communities. The assessment showed that the rule
would reduce the number of people who have elevated air toxics-related cancer
risk by 96% in those communities – and the final delivers those
reductions. 
Requirements in the final rule are largely the same as what EPA proposed.
However, the agency made several changes to proposed requirements in response
to public comments. 
The final rule includes a fenceline monitoring requirements for covered
processes and equipment that make, use, store or emit EtO, chloroprene,
benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride or vinyl chloride, as proposed,
but modifies the compliance deadlines to implement these requirements. EPA had
proposed to require monitoring to begin one year after the effective date of
the rule. For fenceline monitoring at synthetic organic chemical manufacturing
plants, the agency is setting a deadline of two years in response to comments
that facilities and laboratories need additional preparation time to begin the
monitoring programs. For neoprene production sources, EPA is setting a 90-day
deadline for beginning fenceline monitoring of chloroprene emissions.
For all six pollutants, owners and operators must find the source of the
pollution and make repairs if annual average air concentrations of the
chemicals are higher than a specified action level at the fenceline. The
action levels vary depending on the chemical. 
To ensure the results of fenceline monitoring are available to communities,
EPA will make the monitoring data publicly available on its WebFIRE webpage.
The fenceline monitoring provisions in the final rule are modeled on similar
Clean Air Act requirements for petroleum refineries first established in 2015,
which have been historically successful in identifying and reducing benzene
emissions. 
EPA is also working to reduce emissions from other sources of EtO, including
from chemical plants that produce polyether polyols, and taking additional
actions to address EtO emissions and advance EtO research, such as:
Investigating additional sources of EtO (e.g., stand-alone warehouses) and
opportunities for emissions controls.
Enforcing existing regulations as appropriate.
Conducting research to better understand and measure EtO.
Learn more about the final rule. 
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