EPA community meeting to present update on ethylene oxide risk in Sandy, Utah: October 20
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Sandy, Utah — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a virtual community meeting on Thursday, October 20, at 6:30 p.m. to share information about health risks from the chemical ethylene oxide, or EtO, near the BD Medical sterilization facility at 9450 South State Street in Sandy, Utah. During the meeting, EPA will present information on lifetime risk levels for those who live in the immediate vicinity of the facility and will hear from community members and other stakeholders about their concerns. The agency will also provide a brief summary of control measures the facility is voluntarily installing to reduce EtO emissions by an estimated 90%. EPA will be joined by staff from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Meeting Details:
Thursday, October 20, 2022; 6:30 p.m.
Virtual Zoom meeting
REGISTER HERE and learn more about the BD Medical facility.
EPA recently completed air quality modeling and risk assessments for sterilization facilities across the United States, including the BD Medical facility in Sandy. EPA’s analysis indicates that the air near the facility does not exceed short-term health benchmarks. However, the modeling results indicate that a lifetime of exposure to EtO emissions could lead to long-term health impacts if risk levels are not reduced. EPA will present this information at the October 20 meeting. In addition, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality is currently conducting an EPA-supported air quality monitoring study of EtO near the BD Medical facility and at other locations throughout the Salt Lake City area and will provide an update on the status of that study.
The October 20 meeting is part of EPA’s ongoing efforts to reduce emissions of EtO from commercial sterilizers, including activities with state partners and facilities to evaluate concerns and take appropriate steps to reduce emissions. EPA joined Utah DEQ for a virtual community meeting for the Sandy community in August to provide air quality modeling results and is convening this meeting as an additional opportunity to share information and respond to questions. Specifically, EPA aims to improve public understanding of risk; help states, communities, and industry reduce risks from EtO in the near-term; and hear input as the agency continues to take steps to reduce air pollution. Later this year, EPA expects to propose an air pollution regulation to protect public health by addressing EtO emissions at commercial sterilizers.
For more detailed information visit EPA’s EtO website or contact us at eto@epa.gov.
Visit EPA’s BD Medical Sandy, Utah website.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-community-meeting-present-update-ethylene-oxide-risk-sandy-utah-october-20
