Reference summary — not medical advice or a personal risk estimate.
Ethylene oxide
Group 1 — carcinogenic to humansOccupationalchemicalEvidence: sufficient_in_humans
Summary
A gas used to sterilize medical devices. Associated with leukemia and lymphoma.
Detail
Ethylene oxide is Group 1 with sufficient evidence for lymphohaematopoietic cancers and limited evidence for breast cancer. Communities near medical-device sterilisation plants have been identified by environmental regulators in multiple countries as zones of elevated exposure.
Regional relevance
global
global
Sources
Primary sources
Consumer references
Third-party tools some readers use alongside primary evidence. Meyron doesn't endorse them; we link them because you'll otherwise hit them anyway.
- California Prop 65 list
State of California's list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm.