Several Metro Atlanta communities are moving forward with plans to test air around two sterilizing facilities amid public pressure and concern about the release of toxic pollution in those areas.
“It’s very difficult to measure such tiny amounts of chemicals in the air accurately," says Janet McCabe, formerly the EPA’s acting assistant administrator for its Office of Air and Radiation, responding to a question about the South DeKalb test.
“In this case, apparently, the equipment had not been checked (calibrated), so while the scientists are confident that it correctly detected [ethylene oxide] they are not confident in the exact reading,” McCabe says in an email.
