Working safely with ethylene oxide

During the last few years there has been a great deal of concern about the health and safety hazards of working with Ethylene Oxide (E.O.), particularly in gas sterilisation processing. This concern is well founded. Toxicity studies in primarily animal research indicate that E.O. is a suspected cancer causing agent and possible reproductive hazard. As a result of these findings, industry, health care facilities and government have been working to reduce worker exposure to extremely low levels and thereby protect the employees health. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and recommend action plans that you can follow for employee health and protection and for regulatory compliance.