A Carson company that sterilizes medical devices has received 18 citations and civil penalties totaling $838,800 for failing to protect employees from overexposure to the cancer-causing chemical ethylene oxide, state officials announced Tuesday, March 21.
“Our inspection showed this was not an isolated incident of chemical overexposure to workers,” Cal/OSHA Chief Jeff Killip said in a statement. “The employer failed to take action to protect employees even after it knew that some of them were exposed to dangerous levels of ethylene oxide.”Chronic exposure to ethylene oxide is associated with cancer, reproductive effects and neurotoxicity resulting in damage to the brain or peripheral nervous system.
Cal/OSHA’s Process Safety Management Unit, which is responsible for inspecting refineries and chemical plants that handle large quantities of toxic and flammable materials, inspected the Parter facility in August 2022 following an investigation by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.