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What Is Ethylene Oxide (EtO)?

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a flammable, colorless gas used to sterilize medical equipment and other plastics that are sensitive to heat or moisture. And it is a building-block chemical used to make other chemicals, including antifreeze and some plastics. It's also a health threat to workers and communities.

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Featured

 An invisible chemical is poisoning thousands of unsuspecting warehouse workers

Medical supply warehouses can be a significant source of cancer-causing ethylene oxide emissions. Only one state is doing anything about it.

 EPA Faces Lawsuit As Inaction Exposes Millions to Carcinogenic Ethylene Oxide Every Day

Groups demand immediate stronger air standards from agency after it repeatedly missed deadlines, despite knowing the serious health risks.

Articles of Interest

It’s a colorless, toxic gas. A US woman won $363m after years of exposure

EtO has been associated with an increased risk for cancer since the 1970s. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that the greatest cancer risk is for people who have lived near a facility that has released EtO into the air for many years.

EPA Must Keep Communities Safe from Ethylene Oxide Cancer Risks

It’s time for EPA to listen to the voices of the communities who are calling for change. The agency must step in and use its powers under the Clean Air Act, informed by the best available science, to protect them from unacceptable cancer risks.

Ethylene oxide plant closures put US on ‘cusp of a major medical logistical failure’

FDA’s advisory committee offered a stark warning that no adequate replacement to the carcinogenic sterilant exists today.

Hidden Ingredients in Cosmetics

Ethylene oxide may end up in cosmetic products due to the process of ethoxylation.

Largest Sources of Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide Go Unnoticed

Chemical plants in Louisiana and Texas release far more of the cancer-causing ethylene oxide gas than the Sterigenics medical sterilizer plant in Illinois, which snagged national headlines this year and was shut down by state regulators.

My rich town was poisoned by a corporation. Even the 1% isn't safe from pollution

When the news of this poisoning finally broke – and we realized that Sterigenics had brought our community a long-term cancer risk 10 times higher than federal EPA standards, possibly the second highest rate of cancer in the US – we stupidly assumed something would be done about it immediately.

Review of the Controversy Surrounding the Use of Ethylene Oxide in Medical Device Sterilization

Since the inception of its use as an insecticide 160 years ago, Ethylene Oxide (EO) has been used within industry across a spectrum of applications, ranging from the manufacture of antifreeze to the sterilization of medical devices. While medical devices can be sterilized through several methods utilizing steam, dry heat, radiation and certain gases that have been vaporized, EO has been found to be an excellent alternative for devices made out of materials or components that are easily damaged by other sterilization methods.

Students Lead Charge to Fight Pollutant in Cosmetics Widely Used by Women

“Knowing that ethylene oxide is in these [cosmetics] as a part of the production process for those products really kind of highlights the differences within gender with the whole ethylene oxide problem,” Collins said. The fight against ethylene oxide is not over, but Collins remains hopeful the EtO-free movement is a growing one. “I’m just trying to create a space for women to gain information about the ethylene oxide issue and how they, as consumers, can make choices to help support an environment that is healthy and safe.”

What EPA Is Doing to Address Ethylene Oxide and to Learn More About the Chemical

EPA is reviewing its current air regulations that limit the amount of EtO certain types of industries release into the outdoor air to determine whether legal standards for EtO emissions to air can be further strengthened.

When the Air You Breathe Is Toxic

Last year, a West Virginia state health department report found that the towns of Institute and South Charleston are seeing a spike in cancer related to ethylene oxide, a chemical produced at the Union Carbide plant. However, the report included the caveat that, "it is not possible to attribute those cancers to exposure to ethylene oxide, as there are many potential exposures from a variety of sources."

Resources

EtO-free

EtO-free is a cohort of teen girls dedicated to promoting beauty products free from the cancer causing chemical Ethylene Oxide (EtO). We focus on reviewing EtO-free products to open the floodgates of information to motivate girls and women to push for transparency in product labeling and production.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Ethoxylated ingredients on their own are of low concern, however, the process of ethoxylation, may leave behind trace amounts of carcinogens.

EPA

EPA has concluded that ethylene oxide is carcinogenic to humans by the inhalation route of exposure. Evidence in humans indicates that exposure to ethylene oxide increases the risk of lymphoid cancer and, for females, breast cancer.

Mind the Science

Ethylene oxide is a versatile and valuable compound that’s used to help make countless everyday products. Ethylene oxide is used to make household cleaners and personal care items, create fabrics, and manufacture raw materials into more useful forms. A small but important use of ethylene oxide is the sterilization of medical equipment, including the sterilization of personal protective equipment used by doctors and hospitals across the country. It’s estimated that more than 50 percent of all medical devices are sterilized with ethylene oxide.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Ethylene oxide may harm workers, and the harm it may cause varies depending on the situation. Possible harm can involve how much ethylene oxide a worker is exposed to, how long the worker is exposed, and what the worker is doing. Many industries use ethylene oxide. Some use it to make ethylene glycol, which industries use to make antifreeze and polyester.