More Suits, EPA Scrutiny Seen After Chemical Emissions Case (1)

A medical sterilizer plant’s multi-million dollar loss in court over the carcinogenic effects of ethylene oxide sets the stage for an influx of similar cases and puts EPA actions on the potentially cancerous chemical under scrutiny.

Neighboring communities at the fence lines of facilities who use ethylene oxide—a compound used primarily to sterilize medical equipment—claim that emissions from the sterilization process cause short and long-term adverse health impacts, including cancer.

Those claims may have gotten a boost from a jury in Cook County, Ill., which ruled on Sept. 19 that medical sterilizer Sterigenics’ Willowbrook plant emitted toxins that contributed to ...