To the editor:

Recently, the local news has been focused upon the potentially hazardous effects of air pollution from Ethylene Oxide gas sterilization processes. The first organization to be identified as a major polluter was a small-time company in Marietta named Sterigenics.

The second company to be named was CR Bard (now a division of Becton Dickenson (BD)), which has a gas sterilization facility in Covington.  I would like to reassure the good folks of Newton County that they should rest easy for now because BD had only just recently acquired the CR Bard facility in Covington.

IMPORTANT! The BD Corporate culture has not had time enough to take effect on the CR Bard sterilization facility.

NOTE: I am a retired BD marketing/operations executive. As a former 25-year executive with BD, I feel that I can speak with some authority about the corporate culture within BD maintains such a fierce and unrelenting commitment to quality control, corporate ethics and best practices. 

And that is why BD has been consistently recognized at the top of the list of "America's Top 10 Most Admired Medical Device Manufacturers!" 

My entire BD career had been spent within BD's microbiological products division. The microbiology division included falcon plastics - the original producer of the first sterile, disposable, plastic Petri dishes, sterile disposable plastic lab-ware and assorted sterile, plastic disposable specimen collection devices.

Furthermore, BD is world-famous for the manufacturing of hundreds of other sterile, disposable plastic devices - such as plastic syringes, etc.  So gas sterilization of plastics products at all of BD's manufacturing facilities had already been pioneered and perfected long ago.  

In fact, BD literally wrote the book! (See "The BD Lectures on Sterilization")

Following is a true story that speaks eloquently to BD corporate culture, which reflects BD's fierce commitment to high integrity, ethical responsibility and best practices

BD's largest product line by sales volumes is The Vacutainer Blood Collection System. In fact, I can confidently state that every single reader of the AJC who has ever had blood drawn, has had their blood collected by the BD Vacutainer Blood Collection System.

When the Vacutainer system was first created there was patent protection for 25 years.

Surprisingly, during the 25 years term of the patent, BD never raised prices! Instead, BD focused on developing numerous product line enhancements while also maintaining the product lines low-cost pricing. 

Consequently, BD production costs for the Vacutainer Blood Collection System™ had become so low that no other competitor could even mount a credible market entry once BD's 25-year patent had expired!

Moving forward, BD clearly recognized the virtual monopoly it had created on blood collection practices and more importantly, the supercritical role that the Vacutainer Blood Collection System held within the entire healthcare industry. Simply put, nothing happens until a blood sample has been collected and lab tests performed.

Therefore,  BD - to this day with absolutely no credible competition - has still maintained its lowcost pricing on the Vacutainer Blood Collection Products System!  

Can you imagine "BIG Pharma" acting in such a consistently ethical and admirable fashion? I sure can't.

So folks of Newton County, rest easy. BD has already perfected the ability to contain ethylene oxide gas emissions within every single one of their manufacturing facilities all around America and the world. But C. R. Bard might not have.  

So, Gov.  Kemp and other politicians, you don't need to "showboat"  over rectifying this issue and nobody needs to threaten BD about ethylene oxide pollution emanating from the newly acquired Covington facility. BD had only just arrived in Covington through its acquisition of C.R. Bard. 

So, citizens of Madison and Newton County, you should expect that only good things will come out of the Covington facility. You are plenty Safe!

In fact, I firmly believe that BD will prove to be the best "corporate neighbor'' this area will ever have. 

IMPORTANT! I am retired from BD, and I am not sanctioned to speak in an official capacity for BD. I just love and  respect the company and hate to see it's great reputation being questioned or damaged by far too many  "chicken littles."

Peter Berrall

Oxford