A weeklong valve leak at a Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) medtech sterilization plant in Covington, Ga., released 54 lbs. of ethylene oxide into the air, according to a City of Covington incident report obtained by a local TV station.
The plant began experiencing intermittent elevated levels of EO indoors Sept. 15, but inspections and systems checks failed to locate the source, according to the report. The source was discovered Sept. 23 – a vacuum exhaust valve to a rooftop stack was not fully closed. The valve was subsequently closed and tested to verify complete closure, and the cumulative level of emissions was below BD’s reporting requirements, according to the report.
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