Sterigenics Landlord Could Be Held Liable For Elevated Cancer Risk: Cobb Judge

COBB COUNTY, GA — A Cobb County State Court judge ruled Monday that hundreds of county residents who claim a medical sterilization facility's emissions gave them cancer could sue the facility's landlord.

The ruling came after a Friday hearing in which Prologis — the landlord for Sterigenics, a medical sterilization facility in Smyrna — argued that it couldn't be held liable for its longtime tenant's emissions because it was essentially an absentee landlord that had "no control" over Sterigenics' medical sterilization operations or side effects, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.

Sterigenics uses a gas called ethylene oxide in the sterilization process, which was re-classified by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 as a carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent; however, it's legal to use in the U.S. to sterilize medical equipment and spices.

The news about Sterigenics' operations arose in 2019 when a Georgia Health News and WebMD investigation revealed the EPA linked ethylene oxide emissions to an elevated risk of cancer in the surrounding area. As a result, hundreds of residents and dozens of workers filed lawsuits against the company.

Air testing near the Sterigenics plant has found ethylene oxide levels above what the EPA considers to be a health risk, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in October 2020. The state Environmental Protection Division is reviewing whether to limit the company's annual emissions for the first time.

However, Sterigenics claims its operation is safe and high ethylene oxide levels found outside the plant can't be blamed on the company because "background levels" of the gas exist everywhere due to biological processes and common activities, like driving, home furnace use and gas grills.

Prologis released thousands of emails during the Friday hearing, and requested that Judge Jane Manning dismiss them from the lawsuit on legal grounds. But plaintiffs pointed out emails that showed Sterigenics reporting cracks and leaks in the plant, which Prologis — as landlord — did not fix.

"A reasonable inference could be drawn [that] if sunlight, water, and vermin could enter the facility, then, an odorless, colorless gas could escape from the facility. The Court finds this creates a question of fact for the jury to decide," Manning wrote in her seven-page order.

A Prologis spokesperson told the AJC and the MDJ: "While we appreciate the court's time and attention, we are disappointed with the ruling and plan to appeal."