Los Angeles County will not do business with Sterigenics, a medical device sterilization company in Vernon, until it resolves concerns from two state agencies about elevated levels of a toxic gas near its facilities.
The county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion Tuesday, June 14, by Supervisor Janice Hahn to direct all county departments to “refrain from entering into any new or amended contracts to purchase goods or services from Sterigenics.” The company currently is being investigated by both the South Coast Air Quality Management District and Cal/OSHA.
“Sterigenics is emitting dangerous levels of a cancer-causing chemical and is threatening the lives of workers,” Hahn said. “I continue to urge the SCAQMD to shut this plant down until they lower these emissions, but we can exert our own pressure. Until they no longer pose a threat to workers and the community, this company is not going to get valuable Los Angeles County contracts.”
Sterigenics uses a carcinogenic gas called ethlyene oxide to clean and sterilize medical instruments. The Vernon facilities handles more than 45 million medical devices each year, including surgical kits, catheters and IV sets, and supplies those devices to nearly 100 health care manufacturers, including “dozens in the Los Angeles area, as well as local hospitals,” according to a company spokesperson.
Sterigenics does not currently have any existing contracts with Los Angeles County, but is a registered vendor and has received contracts in the past, according to Hahn’s office.
“As stewards of County fiscal resources, it is the prerogative of this Board to direct our County resources to be spent with companies that comply with applicable laws and regulations and do not put the health of workers or community members at risk,” Hahn’s motion states.
Short-term exposure to ethylene oxide — which also is used at facilities in Ontario, Carson, Temecula and San Diego — can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting and difficulty breathing. It increases the risks of cancers, including lymphoid and breast cancers, if someone is exposed for years.
Unannounced inspections by the AQMD in April found ethylene oxide concentrations were at such a high level near Sterigenics’ 50th Street location in Vernon that nearby workers could have a risk of cancer four times higher than the average in the region.
The AQMD issued a notice of violation against the company in May and then later designated the Vernon facilities as “potentially high-risk” in June. Cal/OSHA launched its own investigation into worker safety about the same time.
A Sterigenics spokesperson previously stated that the company is working with the two agencies and has completed remediation efforts that addressed the initial violation.
Last year, the EPA, following years of debate at the national level, acknowledged ethylene oxide poses a greater risk than previously believed and imposed new rules specifically on medical sterilization companies using the gas. Of the 29 facilities identified by the EPA, five are in California, including Sterigenics facilities in Vernon and Ontario.