Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) said this week it will spend $8 million to upgrade emissions controls at two medical device sterilization plants it operates in Georgia. The plants in Covington and Madison, Ga., both southeast of Atlanta, use ethylene oxide (EO) to sterilize medical devices. The federal Environmental Protection Agency recognizes EO as a carcinogen and lowered […]
Report: 32 new lawsuits filed against Sterigenics in Illinois over ethylene oxide emissions
This article has been updated with comments from one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys. More than 40 lawsuits have been filed against Sterigenics by people who claim that emissions from the company’s Willowbrook, Ill. medical device sterilization plant have adversely affected their or their relatives’ health, according to a report by the Associated Press. Lawyers for the plaintiffs filed 32 […]
These 7 trends matter the most for medtech in 2019
The medical device industry is experiencing another eventful year in 2019. Medtech companies face many headwinds, from the U.S.-China trade war to an FDA under fire. But the industry is also seeing the rise of new technologies — especially robot-assisted surgery. In fact, so many major companies are getting involved in robot-assisted surgery that some […]
Sterigenics plant reopening delayed
The Sterigenics medical device sterilization plant in Willowbrook, Ill., will remain closed for at least five more weeks, according to local news reports. The DuPage County judge overseeing litigation about the plant’s emissions of the sterilant ethylene oxide (EO) ruled Wednesday that Willowbrook and three other municipalities that surround it can join the lawsuit. Willowbrook, […]
Report: Ethylene oxide levels high near Georgia medtech sterilization plants
This article has been updated to include comments from Sterigenics. Medical device sterilization plants in two Atlanta suburbs have come under scrutiny from neighbors and state officials following the publication of an investigative report by Georgia Health News and WebMD. Ethylene oxide plants owned by Sterigenics in Smyrna, Ga. and BD Bard in Covington, Ga. […]
Ethylene oxide plant reopening won’t halt FDA plans to seek alternatives
The FDA will continue its efforts to find alternative medical device sterilization methods to ethylene oxide (EO), even though a major EO plant is slated to reopen. Yesterday, medtech sterilization company Sterigenics and the state of Illinois announced they had reached a proposed consent agreement to reopen a plant in Willowbrook, Ill., which the state shut down in […]
Sterigenics ethylene oxide plant to reopen
This story has been updated to include information and comments from the state of Illinois. Sterigenics and the state of Illinois Environmental Protection Agency have reached a consent agreement to reopen the company’s Willowbrook medical device sterilization plant. The proposed agreement resolves all of the current litigation between the state attorney general’s office, the DuPage County […]
Sterigenics moves to upgrade shuttered device sterilization plant
Sterigenics said today that it has applied for permits to upgrade emissions controls at its Willowbrook, Ill. medical device sterilization plant, which had sterilized thousands of devices daily until its Feb.15 shutdown. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closed the Willowbrook plant, citing excessive emissions of the sterilant ethylene oxide (EO), based on a federal […]
How should medtech manufacturers cope with sterilization plant closures?
The sudden closure of a medical device sterilization plant in February and a second plant closure planned for later this year have raised questions about the effects on medtech manufacturers. Medical Design & Outsourcing asked Dan Fowler of WuXi AppTec about the implications and options for the industry. MDO: What can medtech manufacturers do to mitigate the impact of the […]
Federal judge boots Sterigenics suit to state court
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that Sterigenics brought against the state of Illinois for ordering it to shut down a medical device sterilization plant, saying the matter belongs in state court. The Broadview Heights, Ohio-based company abruptly closed the plant in Willowbrook, Ill. Feb. 15 after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ordered the plant’s […]
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