MEMPHIS, Tenn — A South Memphis chemical plant under fire for potentially polluting the surrounding neighborhood with toxic chemicals for years is now the target of a class action lawsuit, and attorneys are still looking for people eligible to take part.
Attorneys representing South Memphis residents filed the class action lawsuit in August, claiming the Sterilization Services of Tennessee (SST) plant pumped "excessive, unnecessary and/or dangerous amounts" of ethylene oxide, a chemical known to cause increased risks for cancers including lymphoma, leukemia, and breast cancer.
For longtime residents like Maggie Dawkins, this latest legal challenge brings a spark of hope.
“When I finally heard that these emissions could possibly be causing health issues, I said, 'Oh my goodness, oh my goodness,'" Dawkins said.
Dawkins has lived in South Memphis for nearly 20 years. She said she has been diagnosed with cancer four separate times since living in the area.
First, it was lung cancer in 2012, and then 2 different bouts with lymphoma, and most recently a cancer illness known as “cancer of unknown primary," a rare disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the body, but the place cancer began is not known.
“It was a great neighborhood when I moved here. People were friendly; everything was great," Dawkins said. "But there was one situation that we could all concur on, and that was this foul smell in the air constantly. We felt we knew what it was and where it was coming from. But little did we know at that particular time that it was affecting our health.”
Attorneys for Sterilization Services of Tennessee (SST) said the company plans to close its South Memphis facility by April 30, 2024, and move to a new location outside of Memphis, according to a press release from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) on August 30.
The press release also said community members and local organizations were pushing for months for the facility to either reduce the amount of dangerous gases it was releasing or move out of the neighborhood.
Sterilization Services of Tennessee has been pumping ethylene oxide into the air since the 1970s, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims the plant was negligent to the community by "placing its own economic interests above the health and well-being of those in the Memphis community," and that they also failed to warn the nearby residents they were being exposed to ethylene oxide.
Several residents in the area developed breast cancer as a direct result of ethylene oxide inhalation, the lawsuit said.
“This is a public health crisis and so we need our Shelby County health department to do more testing of the folks out here; more cancer screenings, we need investment financially," Keshawn Pearson, president of Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) said.
Attorneys are still looking for South Memphis residents to participate in the lawsuit. If you're interested and want to see if you qualify, reach out to Luke Sanderson at Luke@wcwslaw.com or give him a call at 901-523-1844.