A class action lawsuit filed Wednesday claims a group of South Memphis residents have suffered cancer, miscarriages, spinal disorders, and more from toxic emissions from Sterilization Services of Tennessee (SST).
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) recently found levels of the chemical around SST were now 20 times above standards for acceptable risk.
The EPA held public meetings in Memphis last year to warn residents but said there was little they could do immediately. However, the EPA issued new rules to reduce EtO emissions in April. But companies like SST would likely have 18 months to comply with them if approved.
The new lawsuit was filed, in part, by New York City-based personal injury firm Napoli Shkolnik. The firm has represented clients in connection with the Flint, Michigan, water crisis and water contamination lawsuits from Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. J. Luke Sanderson, with Memphis-based Wampler, Carroll, Wilson & Sanderson, will also represent clients in the SST suit here.
The Memphis lawsuit seeks awards for damages, a jury trial, awards for legal fees and litigation costs, and more. It lays out charges on four counts — ultra hazardous activity, gross negligence, negligence, and on charges that label the facility a public and private nuisance.
“As a direct and proximate result of [SST’s] emissions of [EtO] over the course of the last [roughly] 45 years, the South Memphis community has been severely damaged — a manifestation of defendants’ conscious, disregard, and reckless indifference to the human life and health and wellbeing of those in the community,” reads the lawsuit. “[SST] has knowingly admitted this volatile, highly flammable human carcinogen into the air of South Memphis, poisoning many thousands who live, work, go to school, and pray in the surrounding community.”
The suit lists three companies as defendants. SST, its parent company, the Virginia-based Sterilization Services Inc., and their parent company, the publicly traded Altair Engineering Inc.
If the lawsuit is granted class-action certification, the list of plaintiffs could swell. For now, seven living plaintiffs who live or lived in South Memphis near the facility have sued. One of them also sued on behalf of her deceased son.
Anita Albury was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, the lawsuit says. She is also suing on behalf of her son, Lenoris Buoy Jr., who was born with a spinal disorder and passed away in 2022. They lived just over a mile from SST.
Morgan Franklin suffered from miscarriages, according to the suit, and lived under two miles from SST from 1984 to 2010. Linda Lane was diagnosed with myeloma in 2005 and lived less than a mile from SST from 1987 to 2007.
Reginae’ Kendrick was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008 and has lived less than three miles from SST since 2003. Larry Washington was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1999 and lived less than a mile from the facility from 1980 to 2005.
Everett Walker was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1982 and has lived just over two miles from SST since 1976. Beatrice Whitley was diagnosed with leukemia and lived less than three miles from SST from 1977 to 2016, the suit says.
However, a state study of the area earlier this year found no significant cancer clusters.
“This cancer cluster investigation did not provide evidence of increased amounts of leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, stomach, or breast cancers clustered near the Sterilization Services of Tennessee facility compared to a group of residents away from the facility,” reads the report. “Just because we cannot find evidence of increased rates of cancer that are associated with EtO does not mean there may not be increased risk.”
Lawmakers have urged the company to voluntarily reduce EtO emissions at its South Memphis facility. If it has, the company has yet to announce it publicly. The Shelby County Health Department said in an FAQ that the company has indicated it will make any changes before the new EPA requirements go into effect.
