El Paso residents probe warehouse ethylene oxide emissions
A Grist investigation has revealed that emissions of the carcinogen ethylene oxide from Cardinal Health warehouses in El Paso may exceed safe limits, raising cancer risks for much of the city's population. Former worker Maria, diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer years after her time at the facility, now suspects a link. Nearby residents report headaches, dizziness, and respiratory issues amid limited federal oversight.
In 2014, Maria began working as an accountant at Cardinal Health's warehouse in El Paso, Texas, handling sterilized medical products shipped nationwide. The facility received items treated with ethylene oxide, a colorless, odorless gas used to sterilize about half of U.S. sterile medical devices, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Ethylene oxide is a known carcinogen, harmful above 0.1 parts per trillion over a lifetime, and linked to breast and lung cancers, nervous system diseases, and lung damage.
Nearly a decade later, in February 2023, Maria, then in her early 30s with no family history of breast cancer and negative for BRCA mutations, was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer that had spread to multiple lymph nodes. After chemotherapy, immunotherapy, 15 rounds of radiation, and a unilateral mastectomy in fall 2023, she entered remission but grappled with the cause. 'I was like, “What good did that do me?” I got sick anyway,' she said, recalling her efforts to stay healthy. Learning of the Grist investigation earlier this year connected her exposure to the chemical, which the EPA now deems 30 times more toxic than previously thought. 'It was an “Oh my gosh” moment,' Maria said. Environmental health researcher Richard Peltier noted her diagnosis is 'certainly consistent' with extreme ethylene oxide exposure, though no direct causality exists.
Grist's modeling of self-reported emissions from Cardinal's two El Paso warehouses showed levels near one facility exceeding limits, exposing 90% of the city's population to cancer risks above the EPA's 1-in-1-million threshold, with nearby areas reaching 1 in 5,000. On John Phelan Drive, behind one warehouse, residents face a 2-in-10,000 risk—double the EPA's acceptable level. Maria Garcia, 63, who has lived there since 2001, reported recent headaches and dizziness: 'The dizziness worries me a lot.' Neighbor Fernando Hernandez described allergy-like symptoms and dying backyard plants. Other residents noted similar issues, though causation remains unclear.
Susan Buchanan, a University of Illinois Chicago professor, said high enough exposure could cause such symptoms, but workers typically face the highest risks. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesperson Richard Richter stated the warehouses comply with standards protective of health. Cardinal Health did not comment.
A 2024 EPA rule mandates emission reductions at sterilization facilities but excludes warehouses; the Trump administration granted a two-year compliance extension, citing supply chain burdens, and may rescind it. Similar concerns have spurred lawsuits elsewhere, including a $20 million Georgia verdict for a truck driver with non-Hodgkin lymphoma from ethylene oxide exposure.