Georgia’s governor is trying to force a medical sterilization facility to temporarily close after it allowed a gaseous carcinogen to leak out last month.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued a statement Monday saying he filed a temporary restraining order against Becton Dickinson in Covington. The company has refused the city’s request to temporarily close pending the implementation of more emissions controls that are tested to be effective.
The city issued the request after air quality tests showed elevated levels of ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen that federal authorities have said can cause health issues with extended exposure.
The chief of the air protection branch at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Karen Hays, says the elevated levels of ethylene oxide represent an “unacceptable” risk of cancer. The agency also said in a statement last week that it regrets not notifying the public about the chemical’s dangers sooner.
Carr says the legal filing was on behalf of Gov. Brian Kemp and the state Environmental Protection Division following months of failed negotiations.
In August, the state agency announced an air quality monitoring plan for ethylene oxide levels around the Covington plant and a Smyrna plant, Sterigenics, which has since closed.
Topics Georgia
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