"A Trump administration political official delayed the publication of information about a chemical that has been linked to health issues – including cancer – in Illinois, an internal government watchdog said Thursday.

The inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday released a report which said that officials delayed the public release of information about the risks of a chemical called ethylene oxide in Willowbrook, Ill.

The report also said that senior political officials sought to restrict regional officials from conducting certain activities to monitor for ethylene oxide.

On June 20, 2018, the leader of the EPA’s regional office was briefed on agency ethylene oxide monitoring around a facility owned by industrial sterilization company Sterigenics. The monitoring found concentrations of the chemical that would lead to increased cancer risk if people were exposed for a lifetime, the report said."

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill April 15, 2021. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Trump EPA Still Hasn’t Told Thousands Of Americans About Cancer Risks From Ethylene Oxide" (Chicago Tribune) [3]