Is ethylene oxide going to be banned? Has it already been banned in certain areas?

No. EO is not being banned, nor is it banned in certain areas. EO continues to be broadly used for the processing of food products, cosmetics, manufacturing and medical devices. It is a critical sterilant that manufacturers widely use to keep medical devices, implants, scopes, etc… safe. In fact, during the 2015 carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) outbreak, the FDA recommended four supplemental reprocessing measures, which included EO sterilization as the most effective in assuring the complete inactivation of highly resistant organisms.

Bacteria are changing all the time and becoming resistant to antibiotics. Recent outbreaks of MDROs have only been eradicated when gas sterilization was brought into the picture. EO sterilization will change to reduce emissions, but the great thing about our company is we already use the smallest amount of EO on the market and Andersen offers abatement options for all its sterilizers.

Here’s the Ethylene Oxide Sterilization Association’s statement on the topic.