Becton, Dickinson has entered into an agreement with the state of Georgia to settle litigation by the state’s Attorney General aimed at temporarily stopping BD from operating its Covington medical device sterilization facility.

The state claimed that from Sept. 15, 2019 through Sept. 22, 2019, BD violated the Georgia air quality rules when it “negligently allowed the release of 54.5 pounds of ethylene oxide into the atmosphere, which upon further investigation has been determined to have been caused by a lack of diligence and prolonged operator error rather than an equipment malfunction.”

Under the Oct. 28 settlement, BD resumed sterilization operations at the site on Nov. 7 and it has agreed to operate at a reduced capacity at Covington. The company also agreed not to expand production at its Madison facility and to make operational changes to reduce emissions.

(Updated on Nov. 12, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. EST.)