By a unanimous vote, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners agreed to partner with the City of Smyrna to hire GHD Services to conduct air quality testing in unincorporated Fulton County. The contract with the firm comes in response to citizen concerns about emissions of Ethylene Oxide (EtO) from facilities in both Fulton County and neighboring Cobb County.
“After hearing from members of the community that were concerned about whether there was a public health risk posed by facilities in the area, we wanted to see what we could find out about the air quality on our own,” says Fulton County Board of Commissioner Chairman Robb Pitts. “Our hope is to be better able to let the community know about the impacts of emissions in the area.”
The testing comes amid resident concerns about ethylene oxide from the Sterigenics facility in Cobb County and Sterilization Services of Georgia in unincorporated Fulton County. Fulton County has asked GHD to test for EtO concentrations at 10 selected locations for a 14 day period. The sites for the testing will be selected based on wind direction and proximity to the sterilization plants. GHD will assist Fulton County officials recruiting experts in industrial hygiene, toxicology, air quality engineering, and environmental law to serve on a technical task force regarding air conditions in the area.
“Our hope is that testing produces data that helps us understand where conditions stand regarding concentrations, of Ethylene Oxide near the Fulton County facility,” says Dr. Pamela Roshell, Fulton County Deputy Chief Operating Officer. “This collaboration with our state and local partners marks a huge step toward addressing public health concerns of our residents.”