Sterilization Services of Tennessee (SST) will close its Memphis facility by April 30th, 2024, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC).
The company uses ethylene oxide (EtO) in its South Memphis facility to sterilize medical equipment. The gas is odorless, colorless, and is a known carcinogen. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found levels of the chemical around SST were 20 times above standards for acceptable risk.
A class action lawsuit filed earlier this month claims a group of South Memphis residents have suffered cancer, miscarriages, spinal disorders, and more from the toxic emissions.
SELC and Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) said Wednesday the company told U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) in a letter that it planned to shutter the facility.
The move comes less than a year after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first rung warning bells about the emissions in a public meeting with residents. Since then, the company, its EtO emissions, and its inaction to reduce them have come under increasing public scrutiny and criticism.
The Shelby County Health Department has said the facility is now operating within the law and the agency can’t act against them. New rules on those emissions from the EPA have been promised but could take years to actually reduce them in South Memphis.
KeShaun Pearson, president of MCAP, said the closing is a result of “people power.”
“When we band together, speak truth to power, and fight back against industrial polluters in our communities, justice is realized,” Pearson said in a statement. “But eight months is a long time, and neighborhoods in South Memphis shouldn’t be forced to continue to live with cancer-causing pollution. We urge local leaders to better protect communities near the Sterilization Services of Tennessee plant until its long-overdue closure.”
SELC senior attorney Amanda Garcia urged the company to move more quickly to reduce risk and possible harm.
“Families living near the Sterilization Services of Tennessee plant have been exposed to toxic ethylene oxide pollution for far too long, and we are pleased that they may soon be able to breathe easier,” Garcia said in a statement. “But there is an air pollution emergency right now in South Memphis, and Sterilization Services of Tennessee should close and relocate as quickly as they can.”
