Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor
The Trump administration recently reshaped federal standards on carcinogenic pollutants, adding greater risk to the Richmond area — which is designated by Propublica as a hotspot for elevated cancer risks from ethylene oxide.
Richmond has two medical sterilization facilities that use ethylene oxide within six miles of each other, making the city vulnerable to higher cancer risks, according to VPM. Sterilization Services of Virginia, in Eastern Henrico County, was identified as a major contributor to elevated cancer risks in the area by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The facility is less than 10 miles away from Central Virginia Health Network/Bon Secours Mercy Health, another sterilization facility.
Ethylene oxide is a colorless gas used to sterilize medical equipment and is carcinogenic to humans, according to the EPA. Humans who are exposed to EtO have increased risks of lymphoma and leukemia.
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission of bringing together communities of faith to advance climate and environmental justice, according to their website. WIPL communications manager Connor Eppley said the locations “form a Venn diagram” over VCU.
“It’s not just out in Eastern Henrico, though they’re getting the brunt of it, but this is also exposing VCU students,” Eppley said.
Eppley explained that the previous rule was a response to an EPA study that identified EtO as 60 times more carcinogenic than previously thought in a recent study.
“They moved to put rules in place to use existing technology that would limit emissions from these medical sterilization facilities and other facilities that use EtO,” Eppley said.
The Biden administration strengthened the regulations on federal standards for EtO pollution from sterilization facilities in 2024. The restrictions reduced EtO emissions by over 90% and reduced cancer risk by 92%, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The Trump administration gave certain facilities emitting EtO — including Sterilization Services of Virginia — a two-year exemption period beyond the original deadlines, according to the president’s proclamation.
Eppley said that the VIPL wants to ensure that facilities emitting EtO are required to use existing technology that limits the chemical’s exposure and emissions.
“The Trump administration had given facilities around the country waivers of the EPA for up to two years, and that’s when we [the VIPL] got brought on, and we started getting involved with it,” Eppley said. “Our ask right now is for these facilities to use the already existing technology that limits EtO exposure and emissions, because it’s already out there.”
Eppley said several facilities are already using technology to limit EtO exposure, and the EPA has not provided a reason why facilities cannot use the technology.
VIPL partnered with the SELC to file a federal lawsuit against the EPA, fighting the Trump administration’s use of presidential exemptions.
“We brought a lawsuit, basically saying that the presidential exemptions from the 2024 rule were done outside of the statutory authority granted to the president to exempt facilities under the Clean Air Act,” said SELC Associate Attorney Marissa Land. “This is an ultra vires claim that the president acted outside of the authority that was granted to him.”
Land said that based on records, technology to comply with the 2024 rule is accessible to EtO emitting facilities, and there has been no evidence showing difficulty installing them.
“That was the premise of the presidential exemptions, that vendors aren’t available or that it’ll cause shutdowns of these facilities — but we just haven’t seen evidence or proof or facts that substantiate those claims,” Land said.
Sterilization Services of Virginia is in the Varina District of Henrico, which is a predominantly Black and Hispanic area, according to the U.S. Census.
VCU Urban and regional studies and planning associate professor Damian Pitt related the situation to the dual concepts of environmental injustice and environmental racism.
“Environmental injustice is the phenomenon that higher levels of pollution exposure correlate with lower levels of various socioeconomic characteristics like income, education, home ownership and things of that nature,” Damian Pitt said. “Environmental racism is tying it specifically to race, saying that higher levels of exclusion, pollution exposure correlate with higher Black and Brown populations.”
Pitt said Democratic administrations typically support efforts to lower the amount of allowed air pollution, while Republican administrations tend to increase the amount of allowed air pollution.
“What the Trump administration is not doing now in terms of increasing the amount of allowed air pollution is not unexpected given the past trends that I mentioned,” Pitt said. “But the degree to which they are doing so, and the kind of aggressive rate at which they are trying to change these regulations to allow more air pollution, is a bit beyond what we’ve seen in past Republican administrations.”
Pitt said that he thinks the Trump administration is trying to reduce the regulatory burden on industries to promote economic development, while Biden was trying to adopt strict standards to prioritize public health and environmental protection.
Pitt believes the city of Richmond can use its zoning authorities to restrict where certain EtO facilities are located. He added that the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which issues permits for sterilization facilities, can decide how stringent their approach in issuance will be.
Demetria Dixon, a Varina resident said when the couple first moved to Varina, Ted episodes with his asthma and breathing from ethylene oxide, but when he left for work he would be fine.
“This ethylene oxide is really scary with the surgical apparatuses because for one, I have a defibrillator that’s in my body and I know that it’s been sterilized with that, ethylene oxide. I’m super concerned now,” Demetria said.
Demetria and Ted Dixon bought a house in Varina to be their “end of life home.” Ted said that with everything going on in the world, he does not feel there is anywhere to “pack up and move to.”
“I don’t think many people can afford to buy another piece of property right now, another house.
We’re not gonna be homeless because of this,” Ted said.
Varina resident Ben Yakubov said he’s always known Varina as “a place where issues like this are not always handled with the best care.” Another Varina resident, Savannah Davis, said she was not previously aware she lived in an increased cancer risk area and was disappointed, but unsurprised.
“I wasn’t aware [of EtO emissions in Varina] nor aware of this facility [Sterilization Services of Virginia], but I just looked up how far it is from my house and it is exactly three miles away. It’s unnerving,” Davis said.