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Industry, AJC Duke It Out In Georgia Over Ethylene Oxide Risk

While AdvaMed has remained relatively quiet over the recent closures of ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization facilities, the medical device industry advocacy group is taking on critics in Georgia, where two facilities have been paused to upgrade their operations to reduce EtO emissions. Critics – including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editorial board – say the chemical is associated with increased risk for cancer for nearby residents, but AdvaMed and its supporters say there’s no evidence to back that up.

Boxing-gloves

The largest medical device industry advocacy group in the US and the largest newspaper in Georgia sparred on 22 September over the potential risk from ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization plants. While lawmakers, regulators and journalists have been raising the alarm over the risk of cancer from excess EtO emissions, a toxicologist representing the medical device manufacturers via AdvaMed says the concerns are not based on valid science.

Since two sterilization facilities in Illinois and Michigan were shut down earlier this year because of concerns regarding potential high levels of EtO detected in the surrounding environment, there’s been a sense of unease over whether it would cause a medical device shortage and if the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) concerns are valid. (Also see "Sterilization Facility Shutdowns Could Spell Medical Device Shortage; FDA Urges Firms To Assess 'Downstream Impacts'" - Medtech Insight, 26 March, 2019

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