South Memphis residents celebrate closure of toxic facility

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Closed for business.

A South Memphis facility that’s been legally emitting a toxic chemical into the air is now closing.

Over the past year, our FOX13 reports have told you about the contaminated community surrounding Sterilization Services of Tennessee.

The facility has been operating in South Memphis since 1979.

For more than 40 years, residents within about four miles of Sterilization Services were unknowingly breathing in ethylene oxide, a colorless gas we now know causes cancer and respiratory problems. “Today marks a significant moment not just for us, but for the entire community and environment that sustains all of us,” said Mary Webb, a Mallory Heights resident.

RELATED: Sterilization Services neighbor dies from cancer

Some say this closure is only the beginning of the work literally to clear the air. “I am a survivor of breast cancer, and so I just thank God they allowed me to be here on this day to see this plant close. Like I said: one down, more to go,” said South Memphis resident Rose Sims.

In the last five years, the EPA determined ethylene oxide, or EtO, to be more dangerous than originally believed, including when Sterilization Services of Tennessee opened.

The agency changed guidelines for the gas, giving facilities the option to reduce emissions.

“They had an option. They could have installed the right infrastructure that would have protected this community and protected the citizens here for years and years to come. There is technology available and at their expense they could have used and implemented, they chose not to,” said KeShaun Pearson, president of the Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP).

One of the community members FOX13 interviewed in our coverage of the plant was Lettie White.

She was re-diagnosed with lung cancer last fall and died over the weekend.

Her daughter showed up at her place at a news conference Tuesday. “I’m here to honor my mother as if she was still here, she’d be right here,” said Bobbie Jackson, White’s daughter.

FOX13 confirmed that operations of Sterilization Services will be moved out of Shelby County completely, but it’s unknown if the company plans to move somewhere else in the state.