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Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to ETO

Ethylene oxide (ETO) is a powerful sterilizing agent commonly used in medical and veterinary settings that poses significant health risks when not properly controlled. Exposure to ETO can lead to serious health issues, including respiratory problems, headaches, and even long-term effects like cancer or reproductive damage. This makes it crucial for workplaces to regularly monitor ETO levels to protect employees and ensure compliance with safety regulations. By measuring ethylene oxide, businesses can safeguard their workers' health, reduce liability, and maintain a more compliant work environment. Keep in mind that ETO has a very high odor threshold (>200 PPM) 100’s of times higher than the safe limit, making measurement of ETO essential for all medial facilities.

For further information concerning the health effects of occupational exposure to ETO,  please explore sources from the Comprehensive Cancer Information, the ATSDR and OSHA

Advantage of the Air by CCSquared Method

We measure ETO (ethylene oxide) using the tried-and-true SKC 575-005 sampler, analyzing in our lab with a modified OSHA 1010 protocol using SIM-MS (single ion monitoring mass spectroscopy) for highly specific detection.  Our innovation is to confirm the activity of the sampler after sampling by spiking with unnatural, isotopically labeled ETO.  This method captures ETO by chemical reaction with hydrobromic acid (HBr), and this HBr must remain in high concentration during the entire sampling period to produce reliable ETO measurements.  This HBr can be neutralized by ammonia, which is commonly found in air, coming from animal urine, industrial refrigeration, glassware washing, etc.  Keep in mind that ammonia can also interfere with tank methods based on EPA TO-15.  Ammonia will react with ETO in a container, yielding a mixture of aminoethanols at a rate that’s dependent on the humidity.  What a mess.  Both the uncontrolled OSHA 1010 method and EPA TO-15 will yield low results, making it possible to miss uncontrolled ETO.

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