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On January 14, 2025, the EPA announced it released the Interim Decision for Ethylene Oxide (EtO), which is a pesticide used on 50% of all sterilized medical devices in the United States and on approximately 30% of dried herbs and spices. “EtO is known to cause cancer, including lymphocytic leukemia, breast cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine ethylene oxide exposure and OSHA’s prevention recommendations. Ethylene oxide (EtO) is one of the many industrial chemicals that workers may come into contact with, depending on the jobsite. In addition to the […]
The EPA’s proposed rules on regulating ethylene oxide (EtO) have sparked a catfight between the EPA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to several sources. In April 2023, the EPA issued two proposals aimed at reducing EtO emissions, including more stringent air emissions standards and additional protections for workers who are exposed to […]
On April 11, 2023, the EPA issued two proposals aimed at reducing ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions, including more stringent air emissions standards and additional protections for workers who are exposed to the gas used to sterilize medical devices and certain spices. If finalized, the EPA’s proposals are estimated to cut EtO emissions from commercial sterilization […]
A state appeals court has ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) must provide documents utilized to revise its ethylene oxide (EtO) risk assessment to the Sierra Club. Background EtO is a flammable gas used to sterilize medial equipment and, when mixed with other chemicals, as a building block to make dish soap, […]
A recent jury ruling in Cook County, Illinois, granting a $360 million win to plaintiff Sue Kamuda in her damages suit against medical sterilizer Sterigenics’ Willowbrook plant does not bode well for facilities using ethylene oxide (EtO). In the suit, Kamuda claimed she contracted cancer from breathing emissions from the facility over three decades. According […]
It looks to be a bumpy road ahead for any industry, primarily the synthetic chemical manufacturing industry (SOCMI), including petrochemical plants, dealing with ethylene oxide (EO). At the heart of the controversy is the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) value for EO emissions. The controversial IRIS “IRIS is a research program that assesses chemical toxicity […]
In a comment letter, Illinois Attorney General (AG) Kwame Raoul and 10 other state AGs have urged the U.S. EPA to propose regulatory revisions that will adequately protect the public and the environment from the risks posed by emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO) from commercial sterilization and fumigation operations. High on the list of requested […]
In one of its few major Clean Air Act (CAA) rulemaking actions that is not deregulatory, the Trump EPA is proposing to add significant requirements to its existing National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing source category. Called the MON, the existing rule covers an estimated 201 facilities […]
Following an evaluation of the carcinogenic risks posed by ethylene oxide (EtO), which the EPA released in 2016, and a follow-up National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) for EtO, the EPA has decided that the health risks posed by EtO air emissions are “significantly higher” than previously believed.