COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A metro Atlanta community has cancer concerns after President Donald Trump agreed to relax a new air quality regulation for five plants that operate in Georgia.
In 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered factories that use a chemical called Ethelyn Oxide to sterilize medical equipment to install proven air pollution control controls by 2026.
“Everyone here is at risk,” said John Hitchins.
He and his neighbor fought for the new EPA regulation after learning the effects of the chemical used in the sterilization process.
“It’s known to cause cancer,” Hitchins said. “This is bad stuff, and I want to make sure my kids aren’t exposed to it, or, at least, very little as possible.”
This year, three companies operating four plants in metro-Atlanta applied for an exemption to the new rule: Becton Dickinson and Company, Sterigenics and Sterilization Services of Georgia.
The Trump Administration’s EPA approved their application, giving them an extra two years to comply with regulations.
An executive order issued last week argues the pollution control technology needed for compliance does not exist in a commercially viable form, and the new rule could make medical devices unavailable to patients.
The Southern Environmental Law Center’s air program leader, Keri Powell, wants to know why these companies need more time to comply.
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“We can’t see their application,” Powell said. “The EPA and the Trump Administration won’t turn them over. It’s a secret.”
Channel 2 Action News asked the three companies why they applied for an exemption.
BD said it needs more time to install the equipment. We are waiting for a response from Sterigenics and Sterilization Services.
“According to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, these plants have now installed the equipment. They have tested and they are operating the equipment. So, the idea that they don’t have the technology to comply with the federal law is mystifying,” said Powell.
Neighbors who live near Sterigenics said to expect lawsuits to challenge the exemptions.
“We’re going to do everything we can in our power,” Hitchins said.
He said metro-Atlanta isn’t alone. The executive order lists more than 30 other plants across the U.S. and Georgia that have received exemptions to the new Ethelyn Oxide regulations.
The plants in Georgia are in Cobb, Fulton, Newton, Morgan, and Richmond counties.
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