The EPA issued a rebuttable presumptions against registration on use of ethylene oxide as a sterilant gas for medical equipment, bandages, sutures, and certain foods. The agency believes that the gas may pose a mutagenic hazard to hospital workers who use the compound regularly. EPA says that laboratory studies show that ethylene oxide causes testicular damage in male guinea pigs and rats, and in vitro bacterial experiments indicate that it can produce chromosomal damage. Chemical makers had 45 days to show that the gas's benefits outweighs its potential hazards. Union Carbide, a major manufacturer of ethylene oxide, says that it believes that existing data support the continued use of ethylene oxide as a fumigant. It notes that industrial uses of the gas are not an issue in the EPA move. (FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE)