Is the 'cancer gas' used in YOUR state? Medical gas found in thousands of ... trends now
A medical gas used in thousands of hospitals across the US may be causing cancers, reports suggest.
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a colorless, odorless gas routinely used to clean hospital equipment including ventilators, surgical kits, catheters, and gowns.
But studies suggest that when it is routinely breathed in, the chemical can cause damaging mutations in cells and raise the risk of cancer, including of the blood, stomach and breasts.
There are particular concerns for those living around sterilization facilities where the gas can hang in the air for hours, repeatedly exposing people.
The EPA warned that there were 88 facilities using the gas in 2022, with 23 of these having emission levels in the local area that concerned officials.
Affected states included Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida, among others.
Ural Grant was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2019. He has lived in Memphis for 35 years
Among them is Sterilization Services of Tennessee, which has generated alarm among residents at the nearby Mallory Heights Community Development Corporation in South Memphis.
Vera Holmes, president of the area's own 'CDC,' is campaigning for action over the polluted air.
She told ABC News: 'So many people that I know within my family and [that] live in this area have died fo cancer or have cancer now.'
One resident is Ural Grant, who has lived in Memphis for 35 years. Mr Grant was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in 2019 and told ABC News that many of his neighbors also have cancer.
'I thought this was my American dream right here to have a home, to have a house,' he said. 'But then it kind of turned into an American nightmare.'
Mr Grant said that he cannot afford to move due to his mounting medical bills, much like many other residents in the working-class neighborhood.
