Cobb Leaders Join Smyrna Effort to Test Air Near Sterilization Plant
An Oversight Committee will seek experts to do independent testing

Smyrna, GA - Cobb County leaders say they’ll accept an invitation from Smyrna’s mayor to join an effort to conduct independent air testing near a medical sterilization plant in District 2.   Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon asked County Manager Rob Hosack and Commissioners Bob Ott and Lisa Cupid to join an Oversight Committee that will include residents, business leaders and others from both the city and county.

The effort comes after a report raised concerns about Ethylene Oxide released from the Sterigenics Plant off Atlanta Road.  The EPA considers Ethylene Oxide a cancer-causing chemical, but Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division has said Sterigenics is “in compliance with current federal requirements for control of ethylene oxide emissions.”

“We need to make sure the community is protected, that people are safe,” said Mayor Bacon.  “The key is getting this going, getting the air tested and see where we go from there.”

The committee will include city and county officials, health experts, and other local stakeholders who will work with an Independent Air Quality Task Force of private technology experts to quickly implement a plan to test the air near Sterigenics and analyze the results.

A small group met with representatives of GHD, the company who did independent testing around the Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook, Illinois.  The company said testing could be set up in a few weeks, with some initial results a few weeks after that.  The committee will also reach out to officials in Atlanta to see if they would like to expand testing there.

“This is a great opportunity for the City of Smyrna and Cobb County to work together to give residents what they’ve been asking for; independent testing,” said Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott.  “This quick action shows the great relationship between the city and the county.”