The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing tighter limits on air emissions and new worker protections to reduce exposure to ethylene oxide, a colorless gas used to sterilize medical supplies and some food products that has been linked to cancer and other serious health conditions.
The agency announced the new standards on Tuesday and said they are needed to address the health risks posed by long-term exposure to the gas in communities surrounding sterilization facilities in Georgia and across the country. In 2019, a report on federal modeling of ethylene oxide emissions and potential health impacts triggered outrage in metro Atlanta in neighborhoods near medical sterilization plants.
Some plants that use ethylene oxide have already taken steps to reduce emissions, the EPA said. But the proposal floated by the agency would require all 86 commercial sterilization facilities currently operating in the U.S. — plus any new factories that come online — to begin using new advanced technologies to capture emissions and monitor for leaks.
