How Trump’s EPA Is Easing Rules on a Carcinogenic Gas

A decade ago, researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency determined that a gas called ethylene oxide used for a range of industrial purposes was much more carcinogenic than previously thought. Facilities that used the gas to sterilize medical equipment and in other applications released the excess into the atmosphere, and this was endangering neighboring communities. Based on the finding, President Joe Biden’s administration later imposed new rules requiring facilities to drastically cut emissions.

President Donald Trump is now reversing course. Last summer, he issued two-year waivers to 52 facilities subject to the Biden-era rules. The mass issuing of waivers for environmental rules was a sweeping use of executive power that ex-EPA officials said had never been done before. It allowed companies to punt for months to years on meeting now-passed compliance deadlines for cutting emissions.