MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency will host two community meetings to update residents who may have been exposed to a cancer-causing chemical in South Memphis.
The chemical, ethylene oxide, seeped into the air for decades from Sterilization Services of Tennessee, the business located on Florida Street near the I-55 and Third Street interchange.
The company used ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment.
The EPA says the chemical has long been known to be highly toxic, but recent studies show the chemical may be hazardous at much lower concentrations than previously thought.
The agency tracked cancer rates near the facility over two decades. It found an abnormally high number of residents with stomach cancer.
The two public meetings will be held at the Bloomfield Baptist Church on South Parkway. The first meeting starts at 10 a.m; the second meeting starts at 7 p.m.
If you cannot attend in person, you can listen by phone or watch it on your computer:
Call-in number: (833) 568-8864
Watch on your computer: Webinar ID: 161 735 9312
Register to join the community meeting virtually: https://bit.ly/3Myq82h