Sterigenics to pay $35 million to settle lawsuits

ATLANTA

A medical sterilization company has agreed to settle nearly 80 lawsuits alleging people were exposed to a cancer-causing chemical emitted from its plant outside of Atlanta.

Plaintiffs sued Sterigenics and Sotera Health LLC over its use of ethylene oxide, a chemical said to cause cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The plant, located near Smyrna, uses the gas to sterilize medical equipment.

Details of the settlement were submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In a statement, the company denied any liability, and the 79 plaintiffs must agree to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the decision is final.

“Sterigenics and Sotera Health LLC deny any liability and the term sheet explicitly provides that the settlement is not to be construed as an admission of any liability or that emissions from Sterigenics’ Atlanta facility have ever posed any safety hazard to the surrounding communities,” according to the statement.

Sterigenics has been the center of multiple lawsuits with Cobb County and residents over the plant’s emissions. The company sued county officials for devaluing 5,000 properties within a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) radius of the plant in 2020, and homeowners sued Sterigenics for their property value decrease.