Midwest Sterilization Corporation – Jackson - Ethylene Oxide

Midwest Sterilization Corporation operates one of the nation's largest commercial ethylene oxide sterilization facilities at 1204 Lenco Avenue in Jackson, Missouri. Since beginning operations in 1999, MSC has grown to employ more than 200 workers and provides sterilization services to medical device manufacturers across the country. There are over 300,000 square feet of facilities with extensive sterilization chambers and aeration rooms designed for high-volume ethylene oxide processing. The use of ethylene oxide on such a large scale has posed significant health risks to both workers and nearby communities, according to EPA modeling. Legal options may be available to you if you worked at Midwest Sterilization or lived in the Jackson area and developed cancer as a result of exposure to ethylene oxide.

Claim Application Claim Evaluation

Dangerous ethylene oxide emissions and regulatory enforcement at Midwest Sterilization

EPA Region 7 conducted comprehensive site visits and risk assessments at the Midwest Sterilization facility beginning in late 2018, revealing concerning levels of ethylene oxide emissions that posed elevated cancer risks to surrounding communities. Updated EPA dispersion and risk models showed that some areas near the plant faced estimated lifetime cancer risks of 100 in a million or greater, translating to approximately 1 additional cancer case per 10,000 people exposed over 70 years. The most severely affected census tracts showed cancer risk levels reaching as high as 2,000 in a million, or 0.2%, for residents living closest to the facility over continuous 70-year exposure periods.

Worker safety violations have also plagued the facility, with OSHA proposing penalties of approximately $218,500 in 2002 after discovering that employee ethylene oxide exposure levels were up to nine times higher than permissible OSHA limits. While MSC claimed that engineering changes resolved these workplace safety issues, the incident demonstrates a pattern of inadequate protection for workers handling this known carcinogen.

Midwest Sterilization installed advanced emission control technologies voluntarily in October 2019, including acid scrubber systems that reduce ethylene oxide emissions by more than 99% from sterilization chamber vents as a response to regulatory pressure and community concerns. Using these controls, annual emissions have been reduced from approximately 5,767 pounds to roughly 1,215 pounds, with further reductions expected below 300 pounds. Despite these improvements, the facility's decades of high-volume ethylene oxide use have already exposed workers and community members to significant health risks.

Legal assistance for Midwest Sterilization ethylene oxide exposure victims

Individuals who worked at the Midwest Sterilization facility in Jackson or resided in the surrounding community may be entitled to compensation if they have developed cancer linked to ethylene oxide exposure. We have skilled attorneys with experience in ethylene oxide litigation who understand the unique challenges these cases present, including establishing links between ethylene oxide exposure and certain health conditions.

Both current and former employees may have suffered occupational exposure, as well as community members who lived near the facility during its operation. Wrongful death claims can also be filed by family members of deceased individuals who were harmed by ethylene oxide exposure. We only need your employment records, residential history, and medical records to build you the most compelling case possible.