LAREDO – In preparation for an upcoming state hearing, Clean Air Laredo Coalition members and District 7 City Council member Vanessa Perez will host a neighborhood meeting for individuals who may have been affected by long-term exposure to ethylene oxide emissions. The meeting is set for this evening at 6:30 p.m. at Fasken Community Center at 15201 Cerralavo Dr.
The Oct 4 neighborhood meeting will prepare Laredoans for a public hearing to be held Oct. 17 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a state agency that is reviewing a request by Midwest Sterilization Corp. for an air quality permit renewal. The Laredo facility ranks among the highest emitters of the carcinogenic air toxin in the nation.
TCEQ will receive comments in writing and in-person at the Oct. 17 hearing and will then determine whether or not to open a contested case hearing against Midwest.
Oct 4. Clean Air neighborhood meeting is open to all individuals, particularly those who live in La Bota Ranch, Indian Sunset, Wolf Creek, and Villas San Agustin, and to those who work in businesses within the Killam Industrial Park. The goal is to prepare individuals to share their story with the state about how ethylene oxide has had an impact on their lives.
“This is our community’s moment to come forward and tell the state of any negative health impacts that they may be experiencing because of continuous long-term exposure to this extremely dangerous air toxin,” said RGISC Climate Science and Policy Director Sheila Serna. “Ultimately, we need TCEQ to open a contested case hearing to hold Midwest accountable and to address this significant public health threat in Laredo.”
Serna and other members of the Coalition are seeking community members who believe that they are at high risk of being an affected person, especially those:
- who have lived or worked or attended school long-term close to Midwest Sterilization (12010 General Milton) in north, northwest, and central Laredo;
- who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, acute or chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and both extranodal and nodal Hodgkin’s lymphoma;
- who have worked at a commercial sterilizer facility;
- who have experienced short term effects of possible EtO exposure: difficulty breathing, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and convulsions
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a Level 1 carcinogenic gas used in Laredo to sterilize medical equipment. The EPA has classified EtO as one of the most hazardous air toxins that pose the greatest health threat in urban areas. Midwest – a Jackson, Missouri-based company – opened in Laredo in 2005 and has emitted thousands of pounds into the area every year, according to its own self-reported data.
WHAT: Ethylene Oxide Neighborhood Meeting
WHO: Clean Air Laredo Coalition with Council member Vanessa Perez (dist 7) and RGISC
DATE: Wednesday, October 4
TIME: 6:30 pm
WHERE: 78045)
DETAILS: Free and open to the public.
More info at cleanairlaredo.org or call Sheila Serna at 956-266-0598.
