The Comité Diálogo Ambiental filed a complaint with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) over new emissions from the Steri Tech facilities in Salinas. For several nights, an intermittent flame and dark smoke were seen coming from one of the company’s chimneys and drifting toward homes in the La Margarita neighborhood. Committee spokesman Víctor Alvarado Guzmán said the communities of La Margarita, Brisas de Mar, Villa Cofresí, Villa Esperanza and other Salinas sectors are already grappling with the risks of ethylene oxide, and that the smoke is heading toward homes where families, children and older people live.
The complaint says visible emissions were observed and documented on October 1, and social media comments indicate they were also seen on October 2, when hundreds of people took part in a nighttime 5K whose route passed in front of the plant. Abdiel Colón Maldonado, who videotaped the October 1 emissions, said he saw the smoke and the flame turn on and off.
Rick Peltier, a researcher with Dirigo Innovations, presented results on ethylene oxide (EtO), a cancer-causing gas. Monitoring from July to September 2026 in La Margarita and Brisas del Mar indicates Steri-Tech’s emissions contribute to elevated levels of the pollutant. The group asked DRNA and other agencies to investigate and determine whether Steri Tech was operating within its permits.
The U.S. Justice Department and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently began a $700,000 fine process for Clean Air Act violations. Alvarado also demands continuous perimeter air monitoring, publication of all reports, direct monitoring of all EtO sources, and an EPA-backed health study.