Illinois Activists Join Georgians’ Fight Over Ethylene Oxide

Residents gathered Wednesday at the Atlanta Freethought Society building. Last week, WebMD and Georgia Health News reported that state and federal environmental regulators had flagged certain neighborhoods – in the Smyrna area and in Covington — as having higher cancer risks because of a toxic gas called ethylene oxide. Community members met to learn more.

Courtesy of Georgia Health News

Brenda Goodman is senior news writer for WebMD. Andy Miller is the editor and CEO of Georgia Health News.

Twilight was falling, but the heat would not let up.

Cars packed the tiny parking lot of a historic red brick building that sits on a corner of North Church Road in Atlanta, their tires crunching through the white gravel. When space ran out, they spilled down side streets and into the lots of neighboring businesses, whose employees and customers were long gone for the day.