[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 26, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ETHYLENE OXIDE

  (Mr. SCHNEIDER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, every parent deserves to have confidence 
that the air they and their children breathe is safe. That is why we 
have environmental standards and why we have an Environmental 
Protection Agency to monitor, update, and enforce the rules.
  So, when communities face a known public risk, new or recently 
reclassified, we rightly expect the EPA to act--quickly, 
comprehensively, and transparently.
  In the Chicago area, this, sadly, has not been the case. Ethylene 
oxide, or EtO, was reclassified as a known carcinogen more than 2 years 
ago, yet we just recently learned facilities around Chicago could be 
emitting it at elevated levels.
  The EPA has been unacceptably slow to respond and has failed to keep 
affected communities informed.
  This month, I partnered with Senators Durbin and Duckworth and other 
colleagues in my delegation to introduce legislation that would require 
the EPA to immediately revise and update its EtO standards and to keep 
the public fully informed.
  We are also demanding that EPA evaluate ambient levels of EtO in 
these communities immediately, something it should be doing already.
  Our communities deserve more from the EPA. This is about our families 
and their public health.

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