Industrial polluter moving out, but community still has questions
After decades of toxic emissions and nearly two years of community pressure on the company, Sterilization Services of Tennessee is leaving its South Memphis facility.
Topic: ethylene oxide
RSSThere are 18 article(s) tagged ethylene oxide:
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April 2024
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EPA issues stricter rules on companies like Sterilization Services in South Memphis
Under new federal guidelines, one Memphis company will have to slash emissions and another seems to be in the process of shutting down.
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August 2023
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South Memphis EtO facility plans to relocate
The attorney representing Sterilization Services said in a recent letter that the company will leave its Florida Street facility before next May.
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Southwest Memphians sue facility emitting cancer-causing chemical
Anita Albury was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. Now, she’s one of seven people suing a southwest Memphis business.
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June 2023
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State Attorney General leads resistance to proposed EPA regulations of EtO
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tighter restrictions on ethylene oxide, or EtO, which is used in a South Memphis facility. But 20 state attorneys general are urging the EPA to forgo or defer the regulations.
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EPA comes to Memphis for EtO emissions feedback
The EPA returned to Memphis officially for the first time since last fall when the agency explained the health risks created by local EtO emissions. Representatives discussed proposals to reduce the community’s risks from the chemical.
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Neighborhood studies next step against cancer-causing chemical
Ethylene oxide, or EtO, has been on the community’s radar since the Environmental Protection Agency identified a Florida Street business as one of 23 high-risk polluters.
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April 2023
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New EPA rules could cut EtO emissions by 80% in South Memphis
However, it could take years for the proposed regulations, which would govern emissions of a cancer-causing chemical, to be finalized and enforced.
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Opinion: Health Department must protect from ‘invisible threat’ of EtO
“Community members shouldn’t have to wait years for relief. Instead of making excuses and dodging questions, the Shelby County Health Department needs to act now to make the facility reduce its emissions or — if it continues to refuse — shut down completely.”
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March 2023
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Health Department study finds no cancer clusters near EtO producer
The Shelby County Health Department shared the results of its first-ever cancer incidence study on Tuesday, March 28. It found no evidence of cancer clusters near a South Memphis facility that emits a cancer-causing chemical called ethylene oxide, or EtO.
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County urges South Memphis facility to reduce cancer-causing emissions
The County Commission vote approves a nonbinding piece of legislation, but it’s a show of support for residents and groups such as Memphis Community Against Pollution.
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County’s first cancer cluster study to be released
The Shelby County Health Department commissioned the cancer cluster study last fall to learn about historical cancer rates in a South Memphis neighborhood.
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County poised to join city to ask facility to reduce cancer-causing emissions
A small, but patient, group of South Memphis residents concerned about a cancer-causing pollutant in their neighborhood waited five hours to address the Shelby County Board of Commissioners yesterday.
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February 2023
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No legal authority to stop South Memphis EtO emissions, Health Department says
The Southern Environmental Law Center said that EtO pollution in Memphis justifies the use of the Shelby County health officer’s emergency powers. The health department disagreed.
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Scientists gauge Mallory Heights’ cancer risk from EtO
By looking at the cumulative lifetime cancer risk from individual pollutants scientists can glean how much one chemical is contributing to overall risk.
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January 2023
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Memphis facility should reduce cancer-causing emissions, City Council says
“What we’re doing here is asking them to initiate those same interventions that they’re putting in their other sites across the country and not wait for the EPA,” said Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren.
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October 2022
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Health Department launches first specific cancer-cluster study
Residents who live near the Sterilization Services of Tennessee facility in South Memphis have a lifetime cancer risk of 100 in a million from EtO exposure, according to the EPA.
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August 2022
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EPA is monitoring possible cancer-causing emissions in Southwest Memphis
A recent assessment of a local commercial sterilization facility shows elevated risk of long-term exposure to ethylene oxide, a chemical that is carcinogenic to humans through inhalation.
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