SCAQMD Rejects Sterigenics' Emission Reduction Plan and Assembly Member Santiago Responds

(Los Angeles, CA) – Today, Assembly Member Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) released the following statement after the South Coast Air Quality Management District Hearing Board (SCAQMD) voted down a plan that would have required the Sterigenics facilities in Vernon to implement pollution mitigation measures. For months, Sterigenics has emitted high levels of Ethelyne oxide (EtO), a cancer-causing chemical, and will continue to pollute our communities until a new plan is adopted.

“We need to ensure that Sterigenics will not pollute our communities so we can protect our communities and workers,” said Assembly Member Miguel Santiago. “Our communities and especially our children deserve clean air. I urge SCAQMD Hearing Board to reconvene as soon as possible and have the Sterigenics facility stop poisoning our communities with cancer-causing chemicals. We will not stop until our communities are safe and free of polluted air."

South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) found that Sterigenics, an industrial facility in Vernon, emitted high levels of Ethelyne oxide (EtO), a cancer-causing chemical, for months. SCAQMD hosted a hearing on Tuesday requiring Sterigenics to implement mitigation measures, but voted down the mitigation plan. The next hearing is scheduled for August 30, 2022.

Assembly Member Miguel Santiago is the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization and the Assembly Select Committee on Los Angeles County Homelessness. He also sits on the Assembly Committee on Health, Public Safety, Higher Education and Utilities and Energy. He represents the 53rd District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon.