Why is DECC regulating sterilisation activities using ethylene oxide?
Ethylene oxide is a principal toxic air pollutant. In view of the public health risk associated with its use in industrial/commercial medical supply sterilisation facilities, these activities will now be licensed by DECC under the POEO Act. The amendment will require industrial/commercial sterilisers that use more than one tonne per annum of ethylene oxide to hold an environment protection licence issued by DECC. A licence will not be required for the use of smaller amounts of ethylene oxide for sterilisation of equipment, for example, in public hospitals. Why include only sterilisers? What about other non-licensed activities that release air toxics? The POEO Act, together with the recently amended POEO (Clean Air) Regulation 2002, provides a comprehensive framework for regulating activities to minimise their impacts on air quality and progressively improve the emissions performance of older industries. The POEO Act requires that any occupier of commercial/industrial premises must comp
