Medline recently issued the following announcement.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2019
CONTACT:
Jesse Greenberg
jgreenberg@medline.com
Media Statement
SPRINGFIELD - Following the approval of HB3888 by the Illinois House, Medline has released the following statement which can be attributed to company spokesperson Jesse Greenberg:
"While we are disappointed in today's action, we look forward to continuing conversations with legislators in the Senate regarding Medline's exemplary safety record and the importance of ethylene oxide sterilization to Illinois hospitals.
Medline's top priority is the safety of our employees and the communities that we operate in. We are proud that our Waukegan facility has always operated at or below federal and state emission standards.
Further, Medline is in the process of installing a series of new controls approved by the Illinois EPA that will capture more than 99.9% of all ethylene oxide used, emitting cleaner air from our facility than the surrounding ambient air.
It's important to also emphasize what's at stake: Medline's 700 team members in Waukegan produce and sterilize more than 16,000 sterile surgical packs per day used by 135 hospitals in Illinois - nearly 80% of the state's hospitals. And as the FDA stated on October 25, banning EtO for medical device sterilization could create a shortage of life-saving sterile surgical kits to treat patients. Contrary to what anti-EtO advocates suggest, EtO is the only globally accepted, FDA-approved method to sterilize many medical products that are essential to public health."
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