diff --git a/script/lib/deploy-helpers.sh b/script/lib/deploy-helpers.sh
index c0feb2f861bcb2bb8bb3c12c5b63732662b5cc6c..bd7b3c4d6f24cc6e2861d410f14221b5b3f95fde 100644
--- a/script/lib/deploy-helpers.sh
+++ b/script/lib/deploy-helpers.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ function export_vars_for_environment {
     echo "Invalid environment name '${environment}'" >&2
     exit 1
   fi
-  export $(cat $env_file)
+  export $(grep -v '^#' $env_file | grep -v '^[[:space:]]*$')
 }
 
 function target_zed_kube_cluster {