State environmental officials say a warehouse operated by a medical device company near Atlanta is releasing high levels of the toxic, cancer-causing gas ethylene oxide.
-causing gas at its warehouse. Fugitive emissions are those that are not captured or controlled.
The BD warehouse, also known as the Global Distribution Center, stores equipment that has been recently sterilized from the company’s Covington and Madison plants, as well as from other facilities. After sterilization, products will continue to release ethylene oxide into the air for hours or even days, a process called off-gassing.
Last year, the EPA identified census tracts in the Smyrna area, just northwest of Atlanta, and in Covington as having higher cancer risks, largely due to the use of ethylene oxide, also known as EtO. Another sterilizing plant using the gas, run by Sterigenics, operates in Smyrna in Cobb County, near the Fulton County line.
Michael Geoffroy, an attorney representing area residents who have cancer, said Wednesday that BD has operated its warehouse in Covington for at least 15 years and charged that the company has been aware of the dangers there. Area residents were stunned by the news. The level of emissions from the warehouse “is very surprising,” said Cindy Jordan, a member of the local activist group Say No to EtO. “It baffles me. I wasn’t even worried about [the warehouse.
It also requests that the company monitor air at residential areas and schools near the distribution center. The state also asks BD to submit a permit application for the warehouse that will include installation of air pollution control equipment to destroy “no less than 99% of ethylene oxide emissions.”BD says it is monitoring employee exposure more often and is exploring different ways to sterilize equipment.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
State Department plans to reduce staffing levels in IraqThe State Department plans to dramatically downsize the number of American personnel in Iraq, according to a memo sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and obtained by CNN.
Read more »
China IPO hopefuls surge to three-year high encouraged by market reformThe number of companies seeking to go public in mainland China has jumped to abo...
Read more »
What to know about cash management accounts versus high-yield savings accountsCash management accounts from Robinhood, Wealthfront and Betterment offer competitive interest rates, but are not technically savings accounts. Once cash is deposited, it is then held in a savings account at a partner bank. And that could cause some friction for savers.
Read more »
Buttigieg omitted high-powered bundlers from disclosureThe financial supporters not named by the campaign include former ambassadors and wealthy investors.
Read more »
More than 20% of U.S. of high school seniors vaped THC in 2019: studyMore than 20% of U.S. high school seniors reported vaping marijuana in 2019, the...
Read more »