Ethylene oxide leak at St. E's Boardman tonight

BOARDMAN

The Mahoning County HazMat team and Boardman firefighters were called to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boardman tonight for an ethylene oxide leak.

The chemical is kept in a room on the east side of the building and an alarm detected the leak and alerted hospital staff, said Fire Chief George Brown.

Hospital staff cleared the wing at about 8:30 p.m. and the safety officials were able to enter the wing at about 9 p.m. to try to seal the canister, he said.

“The alarm went off like it was supposed to. The hospital did everything right,” the chief said.

Ethylene oxide is widely used by hospitals as a disinfectant for medical equipment, according to online resources.