A new Instagram video circulating among Richmond residents is raising questions about ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas used to sterilize medical equipment, and whether local facilities and warehouses could be contributing to an underrecognized public health risk.
Ethylene oxide is a known carcinogen, and long-term exposure has been linked to elevated cancer risk in communities near sterilization facilities. While Richmond has sites tied to this process, the extent of local exposure and risk remains unclear, making it an issue that warrants closer scrutiny rather than immediate conclusions.
At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently reconsidering parts of its 2024 rule that strengthened limits on ethylene oxide emissions from commercial sterilizers. The proposed changes, now under review, could roll back some of those protections. Federal officials have framed the move in part around supply chain concerns tied to medical equipment, but the full impact of those changes remains unclear.
If adopted, any weakening of federal standards could affect how facilities operate nationwide, including those in the Richmond area.
The video, posted by local resident Loui Alice (@aliceoftheanimals), points to sterilization sites and supply chain warehouses in the Richmond area, suggesting they may be exposing nearby communities to harmful emissions. While some of the claims in the video go beyond what current public records fully support, the concerns it raises are grounded enough to warrant a closer look.
Here’s what we know.
The video appears to have been recorded after a recent community meeting in Eastern Henrico focused on toxic pollution and health impacts. The event, organized by Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, brought together residents and advocates to discuss concerns around industrial emissions, including ethylene oxide.
While some of its language goes further than currently verified public records support, the broader concern lands at a moment when federal regulators are reopening a major fight over how strictly commercial sterilization facilities should be regulated.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a virtual public hearing on April 1 on proposed amendments to its ethylene oxide emissions standards for sterilization facilities.
According to the EPA, the hearing will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern, and written comments will be accepted through May 1. The proposal would reconsider parts of the agency’s 2024 rule, which had strengthened controls on emissions from commercial sterilizers.
Ethylene oxide, often called EtO, is used to sterilize medical devices and supplies that cannot be treated with steam or other high-heat methods.
OSHA points to federal and international health authorities that classify the chemical as a human carcinogen. In its 2024 rulemaking, EPA said its updated cancer risk estimate for ethylene oxide was about 60 times higher than the value used in an earlier assessment, a finding that helped drive tighter federal controls.
Richmond is not being pulled into this issue out of nowhere.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has identified Virginia as home to four commercial sterilizers, including two in metropolitan Richmond, describing both Richmond and Virginia Beach as sterilizer hotspots.
EPA records identify one of those facilities as Sterilization Services of Virginia in Henrico at 5674 Eastport Blvd. in Henrico. Federal rulemaking documents also list Central Virginia Health Network at 2521 Brittons Hill Road in Richmond.
The federal rule fight has raised the stakes.
Supporters of the change argue the older rule threatened the medical device supply chain. Public health and environmental groups, including organizations like the Union of Concerned Scientists and Environmental Defense Fund, argue that rolling back the rule would weaken protections for communities living near facilities that emit a known carcinogen.
For Richmond residents trying to figure out what comes next, the immediate opportunity to weigh in is the EPA hearing on April 1. Registration for the virtual event closed March 29, but residents can still submit comments through May 1, 2026.
Those interested can contact the EPA hearing team at EtO-CommSteril-2026-PublicHearing@rti.org or NRDpublichearing@epa.gov, or by phone at 888-372-8699.
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