Cancer cluster may be linked to medical equipment sterilization facility

The facility uses cancer-causing ethylene oxide in the sterilization process


Residents of Covington, Ga., are asking federal investigators to look at how much cancer there is around a medical equipment sterilization facility plant, according to an article on the 11 Alive website.

The facility uses cancer-causing ethylene oxide in the sterilization process. 

If the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry agree to investigate, the probe would focus on "cancer clusters" in neighborhoods surrounding the Covington plant.

Residents here noted the clusters for years, but only this summer did they come to suspect a connection to the ethylene oxide used at the plant. 

Read the article.



November 20, 2019


Topic Area: Safety


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