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US EPA aims to crack down on chemical makers ethylene oxide emissions

November 13, 2019 | 161 views

US chemical manufactures would have to trim their annual emissions of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas, under an Environmental Protection Agency proposal. Ethylene oxide emissions from chemical manufacturing plants would fall by about 9 metric tons (t) per year under the proposed regulation, the EPA says. The agency wants to require facilities to control emissions of the gas from storage tanks, vents, and leaky equipment. Chemical plants collectively reported emitting about 100 t of ethylene oxide in 2018, according to the EPA Toxics Release Inventory. Of this, about 42 t were fugitive emissions that leak from vents, pumps, and valves, the inventory data show. Ethylene oxide, which is made from petroleum or natural gas, is a chemical building block for making plastics, detergents, medicines, solvents, and a slew of other products. The substance is also used to sterilize medical devices.

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