Dirty Devices Await FDA Alternative to Cancer-Causing Sterilizer

Dirty stents, needles, and medical mesh need a new sterilizer because companies that use a common—but cancer-causing—cleaner keep closing. However, the FDA’s options may be limited.

More than half of all medical supplies are disinfected with ethylene oxide (EtO), a colorless, odorless gas that the EPA has labeled a carcinogen. The chemical is facing new scrutiny after elevated ethylene oxide emissions from Sterigenics U.S. LLC’s Willowbrook, Ill., facility prompted outrage from local residents and the state’s senators.

Sterigenics ultimately closed the facility in February, and Viant Medical Inc., a Michigan-based sterilizer that also uses ethylene oxide, will also shut its ...