The Hazardous Organic NESHAP (HON) Rule mandates stringent fenceline monitoring requirements for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Traditionally, passive methods such as EPA Methods 325A/B and 327 have been used to detect emissions. However, recent advancements in real-time monitoring technology provide facilities with a superior alternative that not only meets compliance but also offers significant operational advantages. 

With recent regulatory changes and political shifts, sterilization facilities are facing increased uncertainty. One thing is clear: operators will need more efficient emissions reduction strategies and compliance best practices to maintain long-term operational stability. In this blog, Picarro experts describe what to expect and how to address regulatory compliance.

PS-19 Test Results Show Picarro CRDS Far Outperforms OE-FTIR 

The US EPA recently finalized the updates to 40 CFR 63, Subpart O (otherwise known as the Commercial Sterilizer National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants/NESHAP).  The updated rule came into effect through the Risk and Technology Review (RTR) and aims to address Ethylene Oxide (EtO, EO) emissions from point sources and room air emissions. 

Indoor air quality is highly correlated with the health of employees in workplaces where toxic gases are present. Companies using EtO need to adopt new monitoring approaches that provide a fast response and are specific and sensitive to low concentration levels of fugitive emissions. This new blog describes how to better monitor fugitive EtO emissions in the workplace with Picarro EtO monitoring solutions.

This is the yearly maintenance kit quick start guide for Picarro's GHG, L2xxx, and EtO analyzers.

New AST BOAZ EtO Reclamation System Integrates with Picarro EtO Monitoring Systems to Reduce EtO Usage and Costs while Ensuring Regulatory Compliance 

Program includes 2nd Annual EtO Compliance Conference, expanded educational resources, and enhanced solutions and expert services

Peru, IL and Santa Clara, CA — October 24, 2023  — Carus, a global leader in the development and manufacturing of environmental solutions, including its benchmark CARULITE® catalyst for the destruction of ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Picarro, Inc., a pioneer in comprehensive emissions monitoring systems. 

Terassa, Catalonia, Spain and Santa Clara, Calif., United States – April 21, 2023 – Telstar and Picarro have entered into an alliance to strengthen the development of EtO sterilization plants integrating emissions control technology.

Santa Clara, CA — April 4, 2023 — Picarro, Inc. today announced the successful validation and use of the company’s Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) under Other Test Method 47 (OTM-47) as published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 23, 2023. The method describes the measurement of ethylene oxide (EtO or EO) emissions from stationary sources by CRDS.

Combination of LESNI’s abatement systems expertise and Picarro’s advanced monitoring and data analytics technology will enable improvements in industrial emissions control   

New system provides comprehensive solution for community monitoring stations and industrial fencelines
 

Analyzers now available for CEMS, Stack Testing, Fenceline, and Ambient Monitoring Systems

Picarro’s Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) Data Acquisition System (DAS) was built to ensure operational peace of mind. Designed for reliability, automation, and clarity, the Picarro DAS simplifies regulatory reporting, minimizes manual intervention, and provides full operational oversight.

Overview

In this session, Carmen Planells, Regulatory Strategy Manager at Picarro, provided a technical, practical walkthrough of the reporting tools required for compliance with NESHAP Subpart O. The talk focused on the two core EPA electronic reporting systems that sterilization facilities must use:

Overview

In this interactive session, Gregor Lucic led the audience through a series of live polls using a phone/computer-based response tool, joined on stage by Picarro panelists Jonathan Bent, Sean Cronin, and Carmen Planells.

Overview

In this joint presentation, representatives from LESNI and Picarro walked attendees through the fast-moving regulatory landscape around ethylene oxide (EtO) and how abatement technologies, monitoring tools, and integrated workflows have evolved in direct response to new federal expectations.

Overview

In this highly practical, regulation-focused talk, Amy Moore, Managing Consultant at Trinity Consultants, walked the audience through the regulatory history governing ethylene oxide (EtO) — explaining how we arrived at today’s complex framework of National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for EtO under 40 CFR Part 63, related requirements under 40 CFR Part 60, and the parallel oversight of EtO u

Overview

This panel brought together a cross-section of EtO experts to reflect on what has actually worked in the first waves of compliance with the new ethylene oxide regulations in 2023–2024. The moderator opened by acknowledging the “chaotic tenor” of recent discussions around EtO abatement and compliance and set the goal of looking back at those early, uncertain days to see which strategies proved effective in practice.

Overview

In this engaging and candid industry keynote, Tal Centers, former Vice President of Gas Operations at CenterPoint Energy, delivered a deeply personal reflection on leadership, risk management, and transformation in the gas industry.

Overview

In this candid and highly practical session, Patrick Clark, President of Brainard Environmental, offered a rare insider’s view into the rapidly evolving world of ethylene oxide (EtO) litigation — and what it means for sterilization facilities today.

Overview

In this session, Sean Cronin, Director of Field Operations at Picarro, walked the audience through one of the largest aggregated analyses of ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions data ever compiled from commercial sterilization facilities.

Overview

In this session, Jonathan Bent, Senior Program Manager at Picarro, explains why distribution centers (DCs) and 3PL warehouses are becoming the next critical focus in the EtO landscape.

From Natural Gas Distribution to EtO Sterilization: Picarro is Transforming Emissions Monitoring and Management

In the Opening Keynote of PGCC Fall 2025, Alex Balkanski traces a powerful arc: from the aftermath of the San Bruno pipeline explosion to a bold new vision for ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization that is emissions-aware, litig

Request SWEL Assessment ➜

With trusted data from Picarro’s CEMS, LESNI proved their Catalytic Abatement Plant (CAP) achieves NEAR 100% Destruction Removal Efficiency (DRE) of EtO. Now, customers worldwide can have confidence in their ability to demonstrate NESHAP compliance while reducing risk and improving operational efficiency.

Jan S. Hjort - CEO, LESNI A/S

It's been giving us a new set of data that we can bring to our customers and to the industry to help prove that the destruction efficiency requirements needed by the NESHAP changes are able to be met by existing technology that's already in the market.

Matthew Bodoff - Business development Director, Carus

Mr. Balkanski delivered the opening keynote at the 2024 EtO Conference, emphasizing the importance of collaboration within the sterilization industry to address regulatory challenges and technological advancements. He began by acknowledging the contributions of industry professionals and emphasized the need for a collective approach to navigate the complexities posed by evolving environmental regulations.

Topic: Facts Alone Will NOT Save Us Dusty Abney opened the session with an engaging presentation on facility design and emissions control in the context of evolving regulatory standards. He discussed practical strategies for integrating emissions abatement systems into existing facilities, addressing challenges such as legacy system upgrades and optimizing layouts to reduce worker exposure.

Topic: Panel 1: Quirks of the New NESHAP Subpart O Regulation Ms. Moore from Trinity Consultants presented an in-depth discussion on regulatory compliance for EtO emissions. With over a decade of experience in environmental consulting, she focused on the historical evolution of regulatory standards and offered practical guidance on current compliance options.

Topic: Control of Fugitive EtO Emissions in the Post-Aeration Supply Chain Melissa Petruska from Sonata Scientific introduced Sonata Scientific's control technology focused on eliminating fugitive EtO emissions. With support from the FDA, Sonata developed a portable air purification solution, targeting abatement for mobile and localized sources.

Topic: Automating SWEL and Workplace Compliance from Chamber to Stack: Smart, Sustainable, Integrated Solutions for the new EtO NESHAP and FIFRA Mr. Martinez from Telstar explored the transformation of sterilization facilities through digitalization, emphasizing the shift from manually operated to fully automated plants. He outlined Telstar’s role in providing turnkey projects for EtO sterilization, highlighting solutions such as integrated sterilization chambers, preconditioning, and aeration cells. Jordi emphasized that automation not only streamlines processes but also significantly

Topic: Advanced Air-purification Solutions for Ethylene Oxide Jens Hermann, representing LESNI, discussed LESNI's approach to catalytic abatement technology, detailing innovations in emission control for facilities handling ethylene oxide (EtO). His talk highlighted LESNI’s wide expertise in air purification across multiple industries, with a special focus on the medical device sector.

Topic: Optimizing Medical Device Sterilization - A Facility Enhancement Roadmap Panel 2 brought together experts from Pond & Company and Picarro to discuss strategies for optimizing medical device sterilization facilities, focusing on emissions monitoring, facility design enhancements, and compliance with emerging regulations.

Topic: Innovative Monitoring Technologies and Their Applications Mr. Cronin discussed Picarro’s innovative approaches to emissions monitoring, particularly for EtO, and highlighted the importance of customizable systems that can adapt to the evolving regulatory environment. His presentation covered a variety of monitoring types—continuous, fenceline, and workplace exposure monitoring—each essential for full regulatory compliance.

Topic: Determination of Optimal Parameters for Ethylene Oxide Destruction Using CARULITE® 500 catalyst Joseph Sigmund, representing Carus LLC, presented on the application of the Carol 500 catalyst in catalytic oxidizers for efficient EtO destruction. With over a century of experience in environmental treatment solutions, Carus has leveraged their Carol series catalysts to achieve high destruction efficiencies for EtO emissions.

Topic: From Innovation to Impact: Picarro's Journey in EtO Sterilization

Mr. Miller highlighted Picarro’s advancements in emissions monitoring technology for industrial applications, particularly in managing ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions. He emphasized the limitations of traditional concentration-based detection and presented Picarro’s emissions-based approach as a game-changer for facilities needing precise, actionable data to meet regulatory demands.

Topic: Best Practices in Data Management and Reporting Sean Cronin’s workshop delivered an in-depth exploration of best practices for managing and reporting emissions data. He began by outlining the complexities of federal, state, and local reporting requirements, emphasizing the need for systems capable of generating accurate and compliant reports.

Topic: Strategies for Destruction and Removal Efficiency (DRE) and Compliance Jonathan Bent provided a comprehensive overview of achieving destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) in compliance with NESHAP and FIFRA regulations.

Picarro ETO Conference Day 2 Presentations

Picarro ETO Conference Day 3 Presentations

Picarro ETO Conference Workshop A: Best Practices in Data Management and Reporting

 

In light of recent rulemaking around Ethylene Oxide, Medical Device Sterilization facilities are considering facility enhancements that leverage state-of-the-art emissions monitoring, collection, and destruction technologies.

Join Picarro and guest industry subject matter experts from Pond & Company as they discuss what to consider when determining how to maintain compliance without disrupting your business operations.

The webinar will explore:

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With the publication of the US EPA’s amendments to the Ethylene Oxide (EtO, EO) NESHAP rules impacting commercial sterilizers and chemical companies, many are wondering how to maintain operational continuity in light of new monitoring requirements. Timeline of compliance, adoption of new monitoring systems, facility upgrades, impacts to throughput and other concerns now occupy the minds of owners and operators.

Achieving effective EtO abatement in problem areas like office spaces and laboratories on discrete HVAC circuits, and warehouse areas with freestanding finished goods, has been particularly challenging. This white paper discusses the performance of a new, low-power, photocatalyst-based technology for abating EtO in these settings—Sonata Scientific’s HeliosTM EtO control technology platform—with performance validated using the demonstrated capabilities of Picarro’s EtO Workplace Monitoring System (WMS).

This white paper describes destruction efficiency testing run by Carus and Picarro, Inc. on Carus’s CARULITE® 500 catalyst media using Picarro’s Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer (CRDS) technology.

This paper outlines the regulatory framework behind the upcoming changes in the Commercial Sterilizer NESHAP (40 CFR 63 Subpart O). We will discuss how the US EPA decided on the continuous emissions monitoring requirements – including what those requirements are. Many in the sterilization industry have concerns about how to meet these requirements as previous technologies have struggled to demonstrate the response necessary to demonstrate compliance.

This white paper outlines testing performed using Picarro’s continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) on a LESNI EO Catalytic Abatement Plant (CAP). This testing was performed at a medical device manufacturer and sterilizer facility in the United States during an active sterilization process. Ethylene oxide (EtO, EO) concentrations were measured in real time upstream of the Catalytic Oxidizer (CatOx), and downstream, at the stack, to assess the destruction efficiency of the CatOx itself.