ATLANTA – State Representative Sheila Jones (D-Atlanta) today issued the following statement regarding the ethylene oxide emissions from the Sterigenics plant in Smyrna, which is located within Rep. Jones’ House district:
“I support the EPD’s approval of the Sterigenics plant’s plans to install new, anti-pollution controls to reduce ethylene oxide emissions at its Smyrna facility. I am also in favor of having the City of Smyrna and Cobb County jointly fund a third-party sampling of the air to ensure fair, unbiased testing of the plant’s emissions.”
“Although the plant will continue its operations, I sympathize with my constituents who have asked that this plant shut down. The citizens of Smyrna deserve to live in neighborhoods without the risk of being exposed to dangerous environmental conditions caused by the Stergenics plant. I will remain committed to working alongside state and local officials to ensure that Sterigenics vastly reduces its ethylene oxide emissions.”
It was recently reported that a Sterigenics plant has been emitting ethylene oxide in the Smyrna area. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that ethylene oxide was more dangerous than previously determined, and ethylene oxide was added to an EPA list of chemicals that cause cancer.
Rep. Jones is working closely with local and state officials to explore solutions to the ethylene oxide emissions from the Sterigenics plant in Smyrna. Rep. Jones recently spoke with Cobb County Commissioner Bob Ott, who also represents the area where the plant is located, and she participated in a conference call with the governor’s office, along with EPA, EPD, state and local officials, on Friday, August 2.
Cobb County officials will hold a town hall meeting to discuss this issue on Monday, August 19, 2019 at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta. Rep. Jones encourages citizens in the Smyrna area to attend the meeting to learn more about the upcoming plans for the plant.
For more information about the upcoming town hall meeting, please click here.
For more information on the EPA’s findings on ethylene oxide, please click here.
Representative Sheila Jones represents the citizens of District 53, which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2004 and currently serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education and the Health & Human Services, Juvenile Justice and Transportation committees.
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