Protect Richmond communities from cancer-causing pollution

On April 9, 2026, a Richmond commercial sterilizer facility called Sterilization Services of Virginia leaked nearly 600 pounds of cancer-causing ethylene oxide into the air. Nearby residents were not notified of this leak that exceeded its hourly and yearly permitted pollution limits.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a proposed order citing multiple violations at the facility and failing to operate required pollution controls with a $53,616 penalty. This amounts to a slap on the wrist for a major pollution event that threatens the health and safety of over 100,000 residents and 100 schools and childcare centers that are within five miles of the facility.

DEQ is seeking public comment on the proposed order through June 19 and needs to hear from Richmond communities that the agency should revoke SSV’s permit. At a minimum, regulators should require real-time monitoring, stronger engineering safeguards, immediate public notification in case of leaks, and higher penalties to avoid future violations.

Help us tell DEQ that they should revoke SSV’s permit or at the very least, enact stronger permit conditions that better protect Richmond communities from toxic EtO pollution.

This campaign is only available to Virginia residents.

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Virginia Department of En

Gary

Wooldridge

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Dear Mr. Wooldridge:

My name is {user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name} and I live in {user_data~ZIP Code}. I am urging DEQ to revoke Sterilization Services of Virginia’s air permit or, at the very least, enact stronger protections and conditions in the permit that prevent further leaks and violations from happening.

On April 9, Sterilization Services of Virginia leaked nearly 600 pounds of toxic ethylene oxide into the air, exceeding both its hourly and yearly pollution limits. This was a major pollution event that threatens the health and safety of over 100,000 residents and 100 schools and childcare centers that are within five miles of the facility. Yet nearby residents were not notified of the leak.

SSV is one of 40 sterilization facilities nationwide that received a two-year exemption from complying with EPA’s 2024 EtO standards, which were designed to reduce elevated cancer risks from sterilizer emissions by more than 90%. SSV should not get another pass to pollute by continuing to violate state laws.

As EPA ignores immense health risks in repealing the 2024 EtO standards altogether, the recent leak at SSV is an urgent example of why we need local and state agencies like DEQ to fill in the gaps with strong enforcement and oversight.

Given the many serious permit violations and failure to use pollution controls that continue to put Richmond communities and our air quality at risk, DEQ should revoke SSV’s air permit. At minimum, DEQ should require real-time monitoring, stronger engineering safeguards, immediate public notification during releases, and higher penalties to avoid future violations.

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~ZIP Code}

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