Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today led a coalition of 16 attorneys general opposing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to repeal national emission standards for ethylene oxide (EtO) used by commercial sterilization facilities. According to the EPA’s own assessment, EtO is a known human carcinogen and among the most toxic pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act.

“When new scientific research concluded that EtO is far more harmful than previously known, Illinois put laws in place to significantly cut emissions. Strong national EtO standards are necessary to protect communities throughout the country from exposure to this toxic pollution,” Raoul said. “As it proposes to repeal rules that reduce EtO emissions, the EPA illegally refuses to even consider what the best science says. It is unacceptable for the EPA to ignore the immense risks to public health, and I am calling on the Trump administration to stop the unlawful and dangerous rollback of these crucial standards.”

In 2024, the EPA improved old regulations on EtO, taking into account updated scientific evidence showing EtO emissions are far more harmful than previously recognized. Among other improvements, the 2024 updates required the complete capture of EtO at sterilizer facilities that use it, major reductions to EtO pollution and continuous emissions monitoring at regulated facilities. The Trump administration is now proposing to dismantle the updated EtO limits and return to the old regulations.

In their comments, Raoul and the coalition argue that the EPA’s new proposal unlawfully ignores decades of scientific progress and improved understanding of the health risks from EtO pollution, including scientific developments that inspired Illinois to strengthen its legal protections.

Long-term cumulative exposure, even to very small amounts of EtO, significantly increases the risk of developing certain types of cancers. Researchers for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that workers from 13 sterilizer facilities who participated in a study of EtO’s health effects suffered higher rates of breast cancer and lymphomas. A follow-up study on the female workers found that cumulative exposure to EtO was associated with elevated rates of breast cancer mortality, with workers who were exposed to the highest EtO levels dying at three times the rate of their unexposed peers.

Short-term exposure to high levels of EtO can cause memory loss, headaches, dizziness, numbness and other neurological impacts, as well as respiratory, eye and skin irritation. Children are especially vulnerable to EtO, which can cause DNA mutations. Analysis from the EPA also found that commercial sterilizers emitting EtO disproportionately impose adverse health effects on communities of color, low-income populations and indigenous peoples.

Attorney General Raoul has been an advocate for stricter limits on EtO emissions. In 2019, Illinois adopted the Matt Haller Act, named after a Willowbrook, DuPage County resident who died of cancer at age 45. Under the Haller Act’s requirements — which are among the strongest protections nationwide — commercial sterilization facilities must completely capture all EtO pollution, limit emissions by 99.9%, and undergo annual testing. A facility that fails to comply with the Haller Act must immediately cease operations.

In 2018, the Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against Sterigenics alleging air pollution violations due to the release of EtO at its Willowbrook plant. The following year, Attorney General Raoul and DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin obtained a court order requiring that Sterigenics meet safety standards. Sterigenics has since permanently closed its Willowbrook plant.    

Joining Raoul in submitting the letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia, along with the California Air Resources Board.