Freedom Information Request Result: Rapid tests are sterilized with cancerous ethylene oxide.

A cigarette has carcinogenic ingredients, but no one forces them into your nose and in your lymph nodes 2 or 3 times a week.

If you have no test, no work in some places still going on today.

For lateral flow tests (rapid tests) UKHSA can confirm that all swabs from our LFDs
in deployment use Ethylene Oxide as part of their sterilisation process. This is the
most used sterilisation method in the healthcare industry and is an important
sterilisation method that manufacturers widely use to keep medical devices safe.

UKHSA can also confirm that any traces of ethylene oxide remaining in the lateral
flow device or packaging after sterilisation are well below limits that would be
considered hazardous for health and comply with international standards. This has
been confirmed with all our lateral flow providers.
The supplier for our only Active PCR Swab (Medical Wire) stock uses Irradiation as
their sterilisation process meaning no EtO is used. The process is ISO 11137
compliant.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/928257/response/2203347/attach/html/5/1136.pdf.html

Which cancers are associated with exposure to ethylene oxide?
Lymphoma and leukemia are the cancers most frequently reported to be associated with occupational exposure to ethylene oxide. Stomach and breast cancers may also be associated with ethylene oxide exposure.https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/ethylene-oxide

Risks of Using Sterilization by Gamma Radiation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5820857/