ACC, Coalition Push to Refute EPA’s Final HON Rule

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and 12 trade associations representing diverse sectors of the economy have sent a letter to congressional leadership, urging support for H.J.Res.161 and S.J. Res 100, Congressional Review Act resolutions to disapprove of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Organic National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (HON) final rule. 

 

The EPA’s HON rule provides new performance standards for synthetic organic chemical manufacturing and national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for synthetic organic chemical manufacturing, polymers and resins industries. According to the ACC, the rulemaking targets over 200 chemical plants and could limit the manufacture of critical chemistries, including ethylene oxide.  

 

In a prepared statement, the ACC states the EPA chose to apply a deeply flawed toxicity value for ethylene oxide derived from the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) in its rulemaking. This IRIS value defies reason — it is 23,000 times lower than naturally occurring levels found in the human body. As a result, some of the new restrictions threaten to affect the production of chemistries used in everyday products and key industries, including agriculture, healthcare, semiconductors and electric batteries.