Feds fine Jackson business $218,500

A Jackson business could be fined more than $200,000 for allegedly exposing its employees to elevated concentrations of a potentially dangerous chemical.

Employees of Midwest Sterilization Corp. in Jackson were exposed to nine times the permissible limit of ethylene oxide, according to the Occupational Safety Health Administration. The chemical is used to sterilize medical equipment, but studies have shown that it causes cancer in laboratory animals.

As a result of four willful, nine serious and three other alleged federal standard violations, OSHA has proposed to penalize the company $218,500.

Midwest Sterilization president Audry Eldridge said the company will have to borrow money if it has to pay the fines. He said he thought the accusations and potential fines were excessive, considering the company was in the process of making engineering changes that have already solved the problem.

Employees were not exposed to any unnecessary risks, he said.

"We certainly weren't as bad as what they said," Eldridge said.

He said chemical levels are all "virtually zero" now. The company, which was named Industry of the Year by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce in 2001, will have 15 days from when the citations were issued on Tuesday to convince OSHA that operations are in order and that the fines should be lowered.

OSHA said it found the following major violations:

Employee exposure to ethylene oxide, also known as EtO, exceeded the permissible limit and the excursion limit. The permissible exposure limit of EtO is an average of one part per million over an eight-hour period. OSHA recorded exposure levels of 9.3 parts per million over eight hours. There is a second permissible exposure limit, called the excursion limit, which is five parts per million over 15 minutes. OSHA recorded a level of 14.6 parts per million during a 15-minute span.

Inadequate engineering controls

Failure to provide respiratory protection and to inform employees of their right to respiratory protection

Failure to notify affected employees of monitoring results and did not take the necessary corrective action to reduce EtO exposure levels

Failure to provide medical examinations to employees prior to assignment to a work location where EtO exposure levels were known to exceed the action level. The action level, .05 parts per million, is the point where OSHA requires action to be taken.

According to a release provided by OSHA, the deficiencies included a lack of representative monitoring, inadequate sampling frequency, an inadequate written program to address reduction of exposure levels, an inadequate respiratory protection program and an inadequate medical surveillance program.

Feeling safe

Although Tony Ross, a 14-year employee of the company, said there are things that could be improved, he said he has never felt unsafe.

He said the company requires annual physicals and his blood tests have always come back clean.

"I've never felt the company didn't have my best physical interest at heart," he said.

Ross said the violation has been a subject of conversation since OSHA's report was posted on a bulletin board.

"Some people called OSHA and voiced a concern," he said. "I don't know if they contacted management about their concerns. It's their right to do that, but I don't think any place on earth is completely safe."

Midwest Sterilization predominantly contracts with major manufacturers of medical devices to sterilize pre-assembled and packaged medical kits. The company also contracts with food production companies to sterilize dairy cartons and spice containers. After sterilization, the packages are shipped to distribution centers.

The company employs 50 to 60 people, about half of whom, Eldridge estimated, work with EtO.

John Schauster, an OSHA team leader from St. Louis, said EtO can have acute or chronic effects on people.

He said tests on laboratory animals have shown that EtO is a potential carcinogen and a possible cause of leukemia. Too much EtO could have adverse effects on the reproductive system and can have toxic effects on the nervous system.

"When it comes to humans, the effects are not quite as clear and that's why we use the term potential," Schauster said.

Schauster added, however, that the acute effects, such as severe skin irritation and headaches are widely known as direct causes of too much exposure to EtO.

Eldridge said he was aware that the levels were slightly higher than one part per million back in May when the first OSHA inspectors arrived. He said he the company was doing some engineering changes in an attempt to correct the problem. He said the levels are now below one part per million and that they are being checked daily.

Eldridge also said that most of the tests that were done were just slightly over the permissible limit, but that one test was extremely high -- the 14.6 parts per million, 15-minute excursion limit -- but that was remedied almost immediately when it was discovered that an exhaust screen was covered with dust and debris and not providing the necessary air flow.

Tim Yancey, a night supervisor at Midwest Sterilization, said it has been business as usual since the OSHA findings were posted.

Yancey said he was confident the working conditions are safe. He said the readings have consistently been at .30 parts per million.

"I never have been worried about it," he said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127