ATLANTA – State Representative Erick Allen (D-Smyrna) today announced that he will introduce legislation during the 2020 legislative session to address the monitoring and use of ethylene oxide in the state.
“The people of Georgia deserve better and demand better of their government to protect our air, water and soil,” said Rep. Allen. “The current laws and rules do not protect the health of our children and our families from the cancer risks caused by the release of ethylene oxide. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) must be held accountable and responsible for protecting the health and welfare of Georgians and our natural resources; this is the only way the public’s trust can be restored.”
The proposed legislation will be introduced as a package of bills that address permitting, testing and monitoring of ethylene oxide use in Georgia. The legislation would require facilities with a permit to use ethylene oxide to report the release of any unpermitted release of ethylene oxide, regardless of the amount, to the Georgia EPD, county governments and local legislative delegations. The legislation would also require testing of ethylene oxide at the exhaust point/stack of these facilities, as well as require continuous monitoring of ethylene oxide emissions at these facilities by the EPD. The legislation would reduce the allowable amount of ethylene oxide that is permitted to be released by these facilities. Finally, the legislation would limit the proximity to homes, schools and daycare centers where a facility can operate.
The legislation will not be pre-filed ahead of the 2020 legislative session. Rep. Allen will hold a series of listening sessions to discuss the proposals with constituents, legislators and stakeholders in the coming weeks. Details about the listening sessions will be forthcoming.
Representative Erick Allen represents the citizens of District 40, which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Banks & Banking, Code Revision and Human Relations & Aging Committees
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