ACC Assists Georgia with Important Ethylene Oxide Research
We understand people’s concerns over ethylene oxide. No one
should have to question whether the air they breathe is safe. Protecting the
health and safety of the public is a top priority for the producers and users
of ethylene oxide and our industry, and companies that make and work with
ethylene oxide are actively investing in research and cutting-edge product
stewardship technologies so that we can continue to help protect the health of
our communities.
Since 2002, industrial ethylene oxide emissions have fallen
by over 80 percent as a result of our efforts. Companies that make and work
with ethylene oxide are making great progress at reducing emissions, but we are
not stopping there. We are constantly using what we’ve learned to improve best
practices, striving to minimize emissions every day. However, we also recognize
ethylene oxide exists naturally and from sources other than in industrial
settings.
As part of our commitment to reduce ethylene oxide emissions and to enhance existing information on the presence of ethylene oxide in the air we breathe, we were pleased to sponsor a project to measure normal levels of ethylene oxide in various areas around Georgia. The goal of this project is to help provide lawmakers, regulators and the public with a greater understanding of existing levels of ethylene oxide in the air.
Ethylene oxide is made of three common elements — hydrogen,
carbon and oxygen. It is released into the air by numerous sources, including
plants as they decay, vehicle exhaust, by heating cooking oils, and through the
use of gas and charcoal grills, among many others. The human body also
naturally creates small amounts of ethylene oxide through breathing. Together,
these sources are referred to as “background” levels of ethylene oxide.
As we seek to continue to minimize industrial emissions of
ethylene oxide, it’s important to understand what are normal, background levels
of ethylene oxide in the air — which the results of this testing help to
demonstrate. The testing, conducted January 13-26, 2020, confirms that, even in
highly remote areas of the state, there is a measurable amount of ethylene
oxide in the air, meaning these background levels cannot reasonably be
attributed to industrial emissions.
For instance, the highest level measured in one daily sample
(7.8 parts per billion (ppb) was near Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, GA, which is
far from any known industrial ethylene oxide sources. Even in the Pine
Mountain, GA, sampling, the location of which is more than 70 miles from the
nearest industrial source, there were measurable amounts of background ethylene
oxide in the air (.28 ppb on average).
These findings mirror data that was released by the EPA late last year that was collected in various other parts of the country—that ethylene oxide is readily found in areas with no industrial use.
We believe in regulations based on sound science and in
transparency in the regulatory process, which is why we are making this
information publicly available and providing it to Georgia officials.
We are committed to help protect public health and adding to the robust discussion about this important chemistry. Families in Georgia should know that one comprehensive lifetime exposure study of workers in ethylene oxide production facilities found no statistically significant excess cancer risk due to ethylene oxide exposure. A similar result was recently found in Michigan when the state analyzed the population near a facility that used ethylene oxide in Grand Rapids, and in Jefferson County, TX, which has more ethylene oxide emissions on a square mile basis than any other county in Texas, incidents of specific cancers “are lower than in the general U.S. population.”
We look forward to continuing to work with the EPA and state
officials across the country to help protect public health and our environment.
Click here for the full data set for each site that was tested.
The post ACC Assists Georgia with Important Ethylene Oxide Research appeared first on American Chemistry Matters.
