APS board chair wants evaluation of health risks from Sterigenics facility

Atlanta Board of Education chairman Jason Esteves called for a federal evaluation of potential health impacts from Sterigenics facility in Cobb County. VANESSA McCRAY/AJC

Atlanta Board of Education chairman Jason Esteves called for a federal evaluation of potential health impacts from Sterigenics facility in Cobb County. VANESSA McCRAY/AJC

The Atlanta school board chairman has asked a federal public health agency to evaluate potential health impacts associated with a Cobb County medical sterilization facility.

Atlanta Board of Education Chairman Jason Esteves wrote that it's "critical" for the Atlanta-based Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to evaluate the situation.

In his July 31 letter, Esteves cited the need to evaluate “health risks and potential health impacts from the ethylene oxide emissions from the Sterigenics plant.”

In recent weeks, community members have voiced concerns about carcinogenic emissions.

The situation impacts Atlanta Public Schools families who live in the Douglass High School and North Atlanta High School feeder patterns, Esteves said in a Twitter post.