For months, officials have been warning of a looming shortage in the supply of a gas used in the sterilization of medical equipment. Now, that already stressed system has taken another massive hit from the new coronavirus infection, COVID-19.
At the heart of the issue is ethylene oxide (ETO). Across the country, states have been shutting down plants that produce ETO in response to concerns from local communities that the chemical, a known carcinogen, could contaminate the local environment.