Colorado health officials said Wednesday they’ll take air samples to determine any risk to residents near a Lakewood facility that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified as one of 26 in the nation where gas emissions could pose an elevated potential risk for cancer.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said it has examined its cancer registry and determined that cancer incidences near medical-device firm Terumo BCT’s facility in Lakewood are not elevated. But the agency’s outgoing director said in a statement that the department will take new air samples to “better determine the potential health risk to residents in the area.”

“We understand this news may worry people in the area,” Dr. Larry Wolk said. “We are already working with Terumo BCT officials about methods to further reduce any release of ethylene oxide at its Lakewood facility.”

The health department’s announcement follows the EPA’s release Wednesday of an update to its National Air Toxics Assessment. The review was developed as a tool to help agencies identify which pollutants and emission sources to study further for possible public health risks, according to the federal agency’s website.

The assessment identified more than two dozen facilities in the U.S. where emissions of ethylene oxide may elevate the potential risk for cancer, according to the state health department. The Terumo BCT site in Lakewood was the only Colorado facility on that list.

Ethylene oxide is a flammable, colorless gas that can be used to sterilize equipment and plastic devices. The gas is also used to make other chemicals, which are, in turn, used to make products such as antifreeze, textiles, plastics and detergents, according to the EPA.

Long-term exposure to ethylene oxide can irritate eyes and lungs, as well as harm the brain and nervous systems, and cause headaches and memory loss. Some studies also have shown that over a period of years, breathing air containing high ethylene oxide levels can increase the risk to some cancers, according to the agency.

Terumo BCT focuses on blood, cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine. Company officials said in a statement that the Lakewood facility’s ethylene oxide emissions are only about 30 percent of the limit specified by its EPA permit.

Terumo BCT uses ethylene oxide to sterilize some of the products it manufactures. The company’s campus in Lakewood has six buildings, including a 57,000-square-foot sterilization facility at 11308 W. Collins Ave.

After the EPA’s assessment, Terumo BCT formed a task force to identify ways to lower emissions, said Tom Gulland, director of factory operations, in an interview.

“We immediately formed a team and started going after any possible sources,” he said. “And we have some great ideas for how to get our emissions rate even lower.”

The Department of Public Health and Environment said Terumo BCT is in compliance with all state and federal air pollution control requirements.

For its review of cancer occurrences, state health officials looked at a tract in Jefferson County that is bounded by Sixth Avenue, Simms Street, Kipling Street and Colfax Avenue.

The Department of Public Health and Environment looked at types of cancer, such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia cancers, that previous research has shown might be associated with workplace inhalation exposure of ethylene oxide. The agency found that none of these cancer types exceeded what would be expected for the area, according to the news release.

The agency is collecting new air samples “to really determine how much of this stuff is in the air surrounding the facility,” said Mike VanDyke, the agency’s branch chief for environmental epidemiology, occupational health and toxicology.

“That’s really what’s going to show us what the risk is, potentially,” he said.

The Department of Public Health and Environment expects to get results from the new air-sample testing by mid-September.