Guys, be careful with ethylene oxide. Propylene oxide is only a suspected carcinogen, but EO is a know carcinogen. It is very effective at cross-linking your DNA! I used to work at Dow Chemical, specifically on the plant where they made both PO and EO. We never went near EO without full protective gear.
Ethylene Oxide ( EtO )
In addition to eye pain and sore throat, exposure to
EtO can cause difficult breathing and blurred vision.
Exposure can also cause dizziness, nausea, headache,
convulsions, blisters and can result in vomiting and
coughing. Both human and animal studies show that
EtO is a carcinogen that may cause leukemia and other
cancers. EtO is also linked to spontaneous abortion,
genetic damage, nerve damage, peripheral paralysis,
muscle weakness, as well as impaired thinking and
memory. In liquid form, EtO can cause severe skin
irritation upon prolonged or confined contact.
What should employers know about
ethylene oxide?
Employee exposure is limited to one part EtO per
million parts of air (1 ppm) measured as an 8-hour
time-weighted average (TWA). Employee exposure may
not exceed the short-term excursion limit of 5 ppm EtO
averaged over any 15-minute sampling period. These
limits are called permissible exposure limits (PELs).