Citizens living around the Sterilization Services of Tennessee facility (2396 Florida Street) are at an elevated risk of harmful emissions and the federal government will visit with them soon.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will visit 20 communities across the country to discuss the risks posed by air emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO). Those community meetings will also help inform the EPA as it develops tighter standards for the Clean Air Act as it pertains to EtO.
“EPA analysis indicates that the air near facilities like Sterilization Services of Tennessee does not exceed short-term health benchmarks,” the agency said in a statement. “However, the concern is that a lifetime of exposure to EtO emissions could lead to long-term health impacts if some of the facilities continue to emit at the current levels.”
Sterilization Services of Tennessee uses the gas to sterilize medical equipment and has eight employees, according to the EPA. It has been in operation in Shelby County since 1976 and has been permitted by the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) since 1985.
The facility is in compliance with the EPA’s current rules. But the agency has “new information about EtO emissions at certain commercial sterilizer facilities” that will be shared during the community meetings. The community meeting in Memphis is set for September 8th. Click here for more information.
A risk map of the area around Sterilization Services (above) shows the lifetime cancer risk of those who live near the facility. The risk is greater for those who live next to the facility between Industrial Avenue and Bodley. But the risk map includes an area that spreads from Peebles in the south, South Parkway in the north, Lauderdale in the east, and (roughly) Riverside drive in the west.
EtO is a colorless and flammable gas that is used in making other chemicals and products like antifreeze and plastic bottles, and to sterilize medical equipment and some spices, the EPA said.
Exposure risks include eye pain, leukemia, and spontaneous abortion.
Here’s what the Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration (OSHA) says:
“In addition to eye pain and sore throat, exposure to EtO can cause difficult breathing and blurred vision. Exposure can also cause dizziness, nausea, headache, convulsions, blisters and can result in vomiting and coughing.
“Both human and animal studies show that EtO is a carcinogen that may cause leukemia and other cancers. EtO is also linked to spontaneous abortion, genetic damage, nerve damage, peripheral paralysis, muscle weakness, as well as impaired thinking and memory. In liquid form, EtO can cause severe skin irritation upon prolonged or confined contact.”
Here’s what the EPA says:
“Major effects observed in workers exposed to ethylene oxide at low levels for several years are irritation of the eyes, skin, and respiratory passages and effects to the nervous system (e.g., headache, nausea, memory loss, numbness).
“Some evidence exists indicating that inhalation exposure to ethylene oxide can cause an increased rate of miscarriages in female workers. Various reproductive effects have been noted in inhalation exposure studies of animals, including decreased number of implantation sites, decreased testicular weights and sperm concentration, and testicular degeneration.
“Human occupational studies have shown elevated cases of lymphoid cancer and, also breast cancer in female workers. Ethylene oxide has been shown to cause lymphoid cancer and tumors of the brain, lung, connective tissue, uterus, and mammary gland in animals exposed to ethylene oxide by inhalation.”