Daniela Palme
Sep 10, 2025
President Trump delayed implementation of EPA regulations intended to cut cancer-causing ethylene oxide emissions by 90% at medical sterilization facilities. He granted two-year exemptions to Sterigenics facilities in Vernon, California, despite lawsuits from nearby residents who say long-term exposure has led to cancer in their community. Environmental experts dispute Trump’s assertion that emission control technology is not commercially available, contending that companies want to avoid costs while communities, especially Southeast LA’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods, continue to face heightened cancer risks from the gas.
Presidential Proclamation Grants Two-Year Exemptions to Vernon Facilities Despite Community Health Concerns
President Donald Trump delayed EPA regulations aimed at reducing ethylene oxide emissions by 90% at medical sterilization facilities, granting two-year exemptions to companies, including the two Sterigenics sites in Vernon, located five miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. This action impacts Southeast LA County communities whose residents allege cancer from decades of exposure to the carcinogenic gas. Trump justified the exemptions by stating that the necessary technology is not commercially available, whereas environmental experts counter that such technology does exist, and the real issue is the companies' reluctance to bear additional costs.
Key Facts
Trump's proclamation delays EPA rules that would have reduced ethylene oxide emissions by 90% at commercial sterilization facilities.
Two Sterigenics facilities in Vernon, California, received two-year exemptions from compliance.
The National Cancer Institute links sustained ethylene oxide exposure to lymphoma, leukemia, stomach cancer, and breast cancer.
Residents in nearby Maywood have active lawsuits against Sterigenics for alleged cancer-causing emissions.
The FDA approved hydrogen peroxide as an alternative sterilization method in 2024
What Is Ethylene Oxide and Why Is It Used in Medical Sterilization?
Ethylene oxide is a flammable, colorless gas that sterilizes approximately 50% of all medical devices in the United States, from basic syringes to complex heart valves and pacemakers. The chemical's unique ability to penetrate porous surfaces without damaging delicate equipment makes it particularly valuable for sterilizing materials that cannot withstand high heat or moisture-based sterilization methods.
The FDA states that for many medical devices, ethylene oxide may be the only effective sterilization method that does not damage equipment. This includes catheters, cardiac stents, neonatal feeding tubes, and implantable devices requiring complete sterility.
How Does Ethylene Oxide Exposure Affect Human Health?
The EPA and National Cancer Institute classify ethylene oxide as a known human carcinogen with severe health effects. Long-term exposure raises the risk of leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, stomach, and breast cancer, with children especially vulnerable early in life.
Short-term inhalation of high levels causes headaches, fatigue, respiratory problems, nausea, and digestive distress. Sterilization facility workers face the highest risk, potentially developing cancer after years of exposure. Residents near such facilities are at an elevated risk due to ongoing environmental exposure.
Which LA County Communities Are Affected by the Exemptions?
The exempted Sterigenics facilities operate in Vernon, an industrial city bordering Maywood, a predominantly Latino community. Despite Vernon’s industry, the sterilization plants are just blocks from Maywood’s crowded neighborhoods, schools, and community centers.
Environmental Justice Concerns in Southeast LA
Southeast LA County has long carried a heavy burden of environmental hazards, including contamination from the closed Exide battery recycler, which released lead and arsenic into Bell, Boyle Heights, Commerce, East LA, Huntington Park, and Maywood. The Union of Concerned Scientists found that approximately 14 million people live within five miles of ethylene oxide-emitting facilities, with nearly 60% of these individuals being people of color and 31% being low-income residents.
What Legal Actions Have Residents Taken Against Sterigenics?
Seventeen Maywood residents filed a lawsuit against Sterigenics U.S. LLC, alleging that the company knowingly exposed their community to dangerous ethylene oxide levels for decades without providing proper warnings or implementing safety measures. The plaintiffs—cancer patients and families who have lost loved ones—argue medical equipment sterilization should not jeopardize community health.
The lawsuit insists that sterilization should only occur with proper controls, especially near populated areas, and that residents be fully informed about chemical risks. Gary Praglin of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, representing residents, says the case is ongoing as plaintiffs seek health accountability.
How Does Trump's Proclamation Justify the Regulatory Delay?
Trump's proclamation states that applying the EPA rule would likely cause existing sterilization facilities to close, which could seriously disrupt the supply of medical equipment needed for both civilian and military healthcare. The administration's rationale hinges on the claim that the emissions-control technologies required by the rule are not available in commercially viable forms, thereby risking patient care due to shortages of critical sterile devices.
Expert Challenges to Trump's Justification
William Boyd, co-director of UCLA's Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment, has expressed disagreement with the administration's statement regarding the availability of technology. Boyd notes that EPA documentation states that appropriate control technology and limitations exist, indicating industry cost concerns may drive resistance.
Boyd also observes that no previous president has invoked this authority to postpone environmental rules and predicts legal challenges from environmental justice advocates. These challenges are expected to focus on whether Trump's claims about technology unavailability and national security interests are factually supported and sufficient.
What Alternative Sterilization Methods Exist?
The FDA approved hydrogen peroxide for medical sterilization in 2024, offering an alternative to ethylene oxide in many cases. Darya Minovi of the Union of Concerned Scientists highlights the decades-long awareness of health risks, making alternatives especially significant.
Communities have spent years engaging in public processes—submitting comments, conducting research, and testifying at EPA meetings—to advocate for stricter regulations. Minovi voices frustration that, despite extensive public input, the president allowed companies two extra years to avoid compliance, despite available alternatives.
How Are State and Local Regulators Responding?
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) regulates ethylene oxide emissions from sterilization facilities in LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties under Rule 1405. The agency monitors compliance with rules, although a spokesperson notes that some aspects of the 2024 EPA rule are "more stringent" than state and local regulations.
SCAQMD began investigating ethylene oxide facilities in March 2022, following a ProPublica analysis that identified the chemical as the primary driver of excess industrial cancer risk from air pollution nationwide. The agency now monitors 15 medical sterilization facilities and one for ethylene oxide aeration.
What Is Sterigenics' Track Record with Ethylene Oxide Litigation?
Sterigenics and its parent company, Sotera Health, have faced hundreds of lawsuits nationwide over ethylene oxide exposure. In 2023, they paid $408 million to settle 870 lawsuits in Illinois, highlighting the significant legal and financial risks associated with such emissions.
A notable case involved a Sterigenics site in Willowbrook, Illinois, where a 2018 Chicago Tribune investigation linked high cancer rates to nearby residents. Intense public outcry led to a multimillion-dollar settlement and the facility’s closure in 2019, setting a precedent for community action.
How Does the Delay Impact Public Health Protection Efforts?
Advocates warn that delaying federal regulation could undermine state and local protections, further endangering residents who face multiple environmental hazards. Abel Parepally of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice says that Southeast LA residents’ health "should not be further jeopardized," especially given their existing vulnerabilities.
The American Lung Association had praised the original EPA rule as an important step forward to protect human health from cancer caused by ethylene oxide emissions. Harold Wimmer, the organization's president and CEO, emphasized that "no one should have to live with elevated cancer risk because of air pollution in their community," while acknowledging the need to maintain access to sterilized medical equipment.
How This Decision Sets New Precedent for Environmental Policy?
Trump’s delay of environmental regulations sets a precedent that worries legal and health advocates. Boyd from UCLA warns the public may see this as abstract policy, but "real people in real places will get cancer because of what the president is doing."
The proclamation exempts nine Sterigenics facilities, including one in Ontario, San Bernardino County, along with other locations nationwide and in Puerto Rico. This broad scope impacts communities across the country, not just those in Southeast LA, and raises concerns about balancing medical supply and public health.
Moving Forward: Community Action and Legal Challenges
As lawsuits progress, affected communities continue to demand clean air and protection from carcinogens. The struggle between maintaining medical supply chains and ensuring public health persists, leaving residents to bear the costs of health while awaiting regulatory progress.
Environmental justice groups urge residents to document health issues, participate in air monitoring, and press officials to prioritize community health. Legal outcomes will determine if communities can enforce stricter regulations or must wait two years for federal protection from ethylene oxide emissions.