Democrat expresses concern about ‘delay’ of cancer-linked chemical regulation

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) expressed concern Wednesday about what she described as a “delay” in the Federal Register publication of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule regulating a cancer-linked chemical.  

The EPA in May finalized a rule regulating leaks of the chemical, called ethylene oxide, from industrial equipment. Chronic exposure to ethylene oxide has been associated with cancer and neurotoxicity, and short-term exposure has been linked to lung injuries. 

However, Duckworth noted in a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler that the Federal Register (FR) has yet to publish the rule, which means it is not being enforced. 

“FR publication is essential because it finalizes the rule so that regulated entities can be held to compliance standards,” she wrote. “Without finalization, the regulation is not revised as required under the Clean Air Act.”

“This delay is felt acutely,” Duckworth added.

She asked Wheeler for a list of rules that are awaiting publication as well as an explanation of how long their publication was delayed and why. 

An EPA spokesperson told The Hill in an email that the agency does not control the timing of rules issued in the Federal Register.

Miriam Vincent, an attorney at the Office of the Federal Register, said she couldn’t comment on the specifics of the rule’s progress, saying it was confidential. She said, however, that the agency is facing a backlog that’s been worsened by an increase in prioritized “emergency” rules related to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“We’re taking now several weeks to get to documents that are not flagged as emergencies,” Vincent said. 

Around the time the agency finalized the regulation, Wheeler praised the action as underscoring the Trump administration’s “commitment to addressing and reducing hazardous air pollutants.”

However, environmentalists criticized the agency for choosing the less stringent of two options it had been considering.