ABSTRACT
In 1985, almost 3 million tons of ethylene oxide (EtO) was produced in the United States. Hospitals and other health care facilities routinely use ethylene oxide as an agent to sterilize medical devices and equipment. Its use is especially important in the sterilization of heat-and moisture-sensitive items that cannot be sterilized by steam. Th ere is no suitable substitute at the present time for EtO sterilization within hospitals, and its continued use is essential for the control of nosocomial infections. Less than
0.5% of all EtO produced in the United States is used as a sterilant; however, this use poses possibly the most signifi cant occupational hazard owing to the greater potential for employee exposure and the number of workers involved.1 In 1977, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimated that approximately 75,000 health care workers were potentially exposed to EtO.2 Perhaps due to increased awareness of the potential health hazards of EtO, recent estimates of the number of people exposed have been reduced. In 1985, NIOSH estimated that 22,230 hospital workers were potentially exposed to EtO.3 Approximately 60%–70% of industrially sterilized medical devices use EtO as a sterilant. It is estimated that the health industry sterilizes 10-12 billion items per year. As a conservative estimate, hospitals, clinics, and doctors sterilize an additional 200 million items per year.4
