Ban the Use of Ethylene Oxide in the Municipality of Lakewood
I am a Biological science's professional who has worked for the Federal government to administer the provisions of the Clean Water Act, who has five years of professional experience and 7 years of Academic experience studying environmental concerns and the effective application of the provisions of the Law in Factory Oversight, Human Tissue Graft manufacturing (from donated tissues), and Environmental Compliance to NELAC/NELAP standards in Drinking Water Safety tests.
The City of Lakewood, has long harbored a facility that uses a sterilant gas known as "Ethylene Oxide" to pre-sterilize soft plastic goods for the use in Medical Manfacturing, Hospitals, and environmental testing of this kind. The continued practice of this business to use this outdated methedology of sterilizing goods is a continual violator of provisions related to the EPA's Clean Air Act. Ethylene Oxide is a gas, that is considered by some Organic or Biochemists to be one of the most dangerous substances on the human planet. Low temperature sterlization of plastic goods in this manner is unecessary, because the same effect can be achieved to a higher standard of sterility with Steris or other brands of Industrial sized Autoclaves can offer professionals in an industrial setting, such as those used in the local businesses of the Molson Coors sterility assurance process, the bottled water plants sterility assurance process in the Montbello areas, and the manufacture of said tissue grafts at sterile processing facilities near major trauma centers located throughout the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area such as AlloSource and the Rocky Mountain Eye Bank.
Surgeons themselves, will likely tell you, that it is critical to avoid the use of EO Sterilant gas in any sterility process that might be involved in a surgery of ANY kind, because of the concern that this method of sterilization of medical goods invariably will leave a contaminant in the resulting products. The very same reason the EPA mandates that this gas never be allowed to circulate in the air, is that it is a mutagen, carcinogen, toxin, and teratogen. It is personally offensive to me, that this same facility who continually violates the Federal Laws to stay in business as a matter of expediency has been allowed to continue operations. I would like the Lakewood City Council to pass a binding resolution to revoke this businesses tax license, and condemn the facility to the oversight of the FDA/EPA, to rennovate said facility up to more modern standards of only using Steam Autoclaves, as the low-temp Ethylene Oxide autoclaves are more dangerous for patient care, and continually poison the surrounding residential areas. Facilities of this type are not meant to be smack dab in the middle of the city, espescially one with such a rich and vivid history of violating the Enivornmental Protection Agencies mandates to remain in business.