Regarding the air permit renewal requested by Midwest Sterilization Corp., the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will hold a public hearing at the TAMIU Recital Hall (Fine and Performing Arts Center) on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is free and open to the public.
This is the first opportunity that Laredoans concerned with Midwest’s emissions of toxic Ethylene oxide will be able to voice their concerns and ask the state environmental agency and Missouri-based Midwest Sterilization Corp. questions about their air permit renewal, which is required for use of the dangerous toxin to sterilize medical equipment.
Midwest submitted their request to renew their air permit to the state agency in February.
Under their current permit, Midwest may emit up to 6.31 tons of ethylene oxide per year into the Laredo air. The company must renew its permit every 10 years.
Since opening its Laredo facility in 2005 at 12010 Gen. Milton Dr. in the Killam Industrial Park, Midwest Sterilization has ranked among the country’s highest polluters of ethylene oxide. Last summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked the Laredo facility among the top 23 high-risk sterilizer facilities in the United States due to significant cancer level risks in Laredo caused by the facility’s ethylene oxide emissions.
Comprehensive studies by the EPA show that long-term exposure to the chemical can lead to breast cancer, acute or chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and both extranodal and nodal Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2022, the state carried out two cancer cluster studies in the six Laredo census tracts nearest Midwest. The two studies found greater than expected levels of cancer for those three cancer types, based on cancer rates in Texas.
“It’s outrageous that this company has been able to get away with this for so long,” said parent Brandon Mathewson who lives in La Bota Ranch, a highly impacted Laredo neighborhood. “Why is the TCEQ protecting them? It’s come to the point where money matters more than people. And the actions of these agencies show that.”
Laredo artist and educator Celina Vallarta who lives in City Council District 7, the most impacted Laredo district, agreed. “We need TCEQ to know that just because we live on the border doesn’t mean that companies like Midwest can come into our neighborhoods and take advantage of us. They’re making enormous profits while poisoning us by emitting thousands of pounds of this dangerous chemical into our air,” she said, adding, “TCEQ must open a contested case hearing to hold Midwest accountable and to address this significant public health crisis in Laredo.”
Despite clear evidence and EPA studies affirming the danger of EtO in extremely small amounts, the TCEQ and facilities like Midwest refuse to conduct fenceline air monitoring, and their proposed permit renewal will not require them to reduce their emissions. This means that medically underserved communities like Laredo are left to carry a heavy public health burden due to current business practices and lax government oversight.
“The TCEQ said it was difficult to establish causation. We don’t want the agency to keep hiding behind its minimum standards to address this. We want to know why the TCEQ is not holding Midwestern accountable, why it is not using its greater powers to protect the environment, clean air, and the health of this community,” said Tricia Cortez, executive director of the Río Grande International Study Center, adding, “The TCEQ has given Midwestern Sterilization a free pass. At its highest level, the agency has chosen to protect industry over the environment and the health of the human beings of a medically undeserved border community.”
The Oct. 17 hearing will be divided in two parts:
- Informal Discussion period – Midwest and TCEQ will answer questions by the public. This section will not be part of the official record.
- Formal Comment period – Members of the public can comment on Midwest’s permit renewal application. This section of the hearing will become part of the official record.
Individuals can come forward as potentially affected persons by submitting comments in writing anytime before the October 17 hearing, or during the Formal Comment period at the actual hearing. Comments can be sent electronically before the hearing by clicking here: https://www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ (enter Permit Number 55557).
About Ethylene oxide (EtO) – EtO is a carcinogenic gas used by Midwest Sterilization in Laredo to sterilize medical equipment. It is mutagenic, meaning that it causes damage to a cell’s DNA. The EPA has classified it as one of the most hazardous air toxins that pose the greatest public health threat in urban areas. In 2016, the EPA found that EtO is 60 times more toxic to children and 30 times more toxic to adults than previously estimated.
To view TCEQ Public Notice, CLICK HERE.
