Knowledge Session Ethylene Oxide 2025
Risks, regulations and solutions for a safe warehouse
Does your organization deal with the storage of products sterilized with ethylene oxide (EtO)? Then this knowledge session is designed for you. Leading experts will explain the health risks and clarify the legal obligations that apply to employers. In addition, you will gain valuable insights into how to measure and structurally improve air quality in the workplace. You will also have the opportunity to exchange experiences with peers during the networking lunch.
Practical information
- Date: Wednesday 19 November 2025
- Time: Doors open from 09:30. Program including lunch from 10:00 – 14:00
- Program: (presentations in English)
10.00 – 10.05: Opening by moderator Daniel Gooijer, Managing Director at Euromate
10:05 – 10:50: Presentation by Huib Lebbing, Lawyer and Partner at Houthoff, on the legal position of employers and liability when working with hazardous substances
11:00 – 11:45: Presentation by Sophia Franklin, Independent Occupational Physician and Clinical Occupational Health Specialist, sharing her expertise on the health risks of workplace exposure to ethylene oxide
12:00 – 13:00: Networking lunch
13:00 – 13:45: Presentation by Dr Erik van Deurssen, Occupational Hygienist at RPS, on how to reliably measure and control ethylene oxide within your organization
13:45 – 14:00: Q&A and closing remarks by Daniel Gooijer - Location: RPS, Ptolemaeuslaan 40, 3528 BP Utrecht
- Parking: At P&R Papendorp, 3-minute walk from the venue. A validated parking ticket will be provided.
- Who should attend: Executives, HSE officers, warehouse managers, and facility/operations managers
- Admission: € 50, including networking lunch
- Organizers: An initiative of RPS & Euromate
The speakers
Huib Lebbing, Lawyer and Partner at Houthoff, specialized in liability matters, primarily in the context of occupational health and safety legislation. He litigates, advises, and conducts confidential internal investigations for clients regarding compliance with occupational health and safety regulations. An experienced litigator, he acts as counsel in complex, high-profile cases, particularly those related to occupational health claims. His work includes collective actions as well as product liability and employer liability compliance.
He advises industry associations and companies facing the consequences of large-scale workplace incidents or disasters. He provides comprehensive support at every stage – from risk prevention, compliance, and incident response to investigations and litigation – ensuring that the legal concerns and needs of his clients are addressed with precision. He has extensive experience with collective actions involving exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace. In addition, he represents companies dealing with product defects and potential product recalls. His experience in working with authorities such as the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, the Dutch Labour Inspectorate, and the Dutch Safety Board is of great value in this context.
Sophia Franklin, Occupational physician and clinical occupational health specialist with a particular focus on substance-related occupational diseases, prevention of work-related illnesses, and the relationship between menopause and work. She serves as a medical advisor at the Dutch Labour Inspectorate and, as an independent occupational physician, she mainly gives lectures on occupational diseases and menopause at work, provides teaching in the training program for occupational physicians on workplace risks, and collaborates with the NVAB (Netherlands Society of Occupational Medicine) on the guideline Menopause and Work. She is also an editor for Quintesse, a continuing education journal for occupational and insurance physicians. In 2023, she was named Occupational Physician Par Excellence by the NVAB.
Until recently, she worked at the AMC outpatient clinic for Work and Health, specializing in work-related lung diseases. With her departure from AMC in September 2025, she also concluded her work for the national expertise center for substance-related occupational diseases (Lexces) and stepped down as deputy member of the Advisory Committee on the List of Substance-Related Occupational Diseases. She continues her research projects at AMC through a guest appointment.
Dr Erik van Deurssen has been an occupational hygienist at RPS since 2015. In this role, he conducts extensive research into workplace exposure to harmful substances and the assessment of such exposures. He also provides practice-oriented training on conducting workplace and exposure measurements, supporting professionals in applying effective occupational hygiene methods in their daily practice.
He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and a Master’s degree in Human Movement Sciences, specializing in physical activity interventions. Building on this academic foundation, he earned a PhD in occupational hygiene, focusing on exposure to respirable crystalline silica (quartz dust) in the construction sector. His doctoral research involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of a multidimensional intervention program to reduce harmful workplace exposures.
For this work, he received the Thomas Bedford Memorial Prize from the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) for the best scientific article published in The Annals of Occupational Hygiene (2016).
What to expect at the Ethylene Oxide Knowledge Session 2025
- Informative Presentations
Gain practical insights into the risks of EtO exposure, legal obligations, and how to measure and control exposure. The presentations will be delivered in English. - Interactive Discussion
Exchange experiences and case studies with peers from the field, focusing on challenges, approaches, and solutions. - Networking with Peers
During lunch, meet executives, HSE professionals, occupational hygienists, legal experts and other stakeholders from the sector.
Register now!
Fill out the form to confirm your participation. After registration, you will receive an email with payment instructions.
The presentations will be delivered in English and the number of seats is limited. Participation is only final once payment has been received.
For questions, please contact Ester van Loon at ester.van.loon@euromate.com of 076-5789561.
This event is an initiative of:
