New Lawsuit Challenges Trump's Exemptions for Polluters

"Last spring, the Environmental Protection Agency made a surprise announcement: President Donald Trump would consider giving some polluters exemptions from a handful of Clean Air Act rules. To get the ball rolling, all it would take was an email from a company making its case. The EPA set up a special inbox to receive these applications, and it gave companies about three weeks at the end of March to submit their requests for presidential exemption."

"One industry was particularly eager for exemption: medical device sterilizers. About 40 of the roughly 90 device sterilization plants that operate nationwide, along with their trade association, wrote in, arguing they shouldn't have to comply with an air quality rule limiting how much toxic material they could emit. That's because these facilities sterilize medical equipment with ethylene oxide, a potent carcinogen that studies have linked to cancers of the breast and lymph nodes."

"In 2024, the Biden administration issued regulations requiring sterilizers to cut their emissions by about 90 percent. Companies were given two years to comply, and many had begun installing new monitoring equipment and pollution-control devices to meet the standard. But last year, after President Trump took office, the EPA gave these companies a way out; they could request a presidential exemption."

The Environmental Protection Agency announced that President Donald Trump would consider granting exemptions from several Clean Air Act rules and created a special inbox for companies to apply, with roughly three weeks at the end of March to submit requests. Hundreds of companies applied, including coal plants, steel manufacturers, limestone producers, and chemical refiners. Medical device sterilizers were particularly active: about 40 of roughly 90 nationwide requested exemptions, arguing they should not have to meet air-quality limits for ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is a potent carcinogen linked to breast and lymph-node cancers. About 40 facilities were granted exemptions by presidential proclamation last summer.

Read at Truthout