Illinois residents living about a mile away from a medical sterilization facility have levels of the cancer-causing gas ethylene oxide in their blood that are about 50% higher than those who live farther away, according to newly released test results.
The testing was limited, involving blood samples from 93 people who responded to fliers and social media posts about the project. Participants were not randomly selected, which may have introduced bias. The results have not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Even so, the testing offers the first biological evidence that living near a facility that emits ethylene oxide increases a person’s body burden of the chemical, which has been linked to breast and blood cancers.
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