Communities launch legal battles against industry over cancer-causing gas
COVINGTON, Ga. (SOA) — There is lingering concern over a toxic legacy in parts of Georgia where people say they were breathing an invisible cancer-causing gas for decades. Spotlight on America has reported on the potential health impact from ethylene oxide, known as EtO, for the past 5 years. Now, the battle over toxic emissions from medical sterilization plants is going from community protests to the courtroom, as more than 300 citizens in Covington blame the industry for poisoning them.
The "C" word
On a lovely porch in the small town of Covington, Georgia, four prominent local citizens opened up to Spotlight on America about the cancer diagnoses that changed their lives.
"I always called it that C word. I was just so afraid of cancer," Connie Waller, the longtime director of Keep Newton (Covington) Beautiful, told us.
Connie Waller, Lisa Baker, and Shannon Buff each battled breast cancer; and Connie's husband, David Waller, fought both lymphoma and throat cancer.
The "C" word has left its mark on this quaint southern community, often striking the young.
"I was 34, technically I guess 35. I found out on my birthday," Lisa Baker said.
Lisa is the well-known owner of a local clothing boutique in the the town center and was also one of six moms who had cancer all at the same time, while their kids were in the same elementary school together.
Dr. Shannon Buff, Georgia's 2024 Principal of the Year, was another one of those mom's, just 38 when she found out.
"I was terrified that I was going to die," Shannon told us.
David, the retired Director of Georgia's Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division said, as community leaders, they felt compelled to speak out.
"If people don't speak up that's had these illnesses, nobody will know," he told us.
They all believe they are part of a cancer cluster caused by an invisible toxin that spewed into their community.
"I can't tell you the amount of people that have had all kinds of the lymphomas, the breast, the colon. It's really disturbing," Lisa said.
Ground Zero
Covington attorney Michael Geoffroy points to ethylene oxide, or EtO, emissions at the BD Bard medical sterilization plant in the center of town as what he believes is a common link.
"This is really ground zero for Covington's biggest nightmare," he said. "People [were] living their lives, growing up right here next to something with toxic dangerous chemicals that went unchecked for decades."
Beckton Dickinson and Company, known as BD Bard in Covington, has operated in town for more than 50 years.
It's one of nearly 100 facilities nationwide that use EtO to sterilize more than 20 billion pieces of medical equipment a year, half of all sold in the U.S.
As Spotlight has reported for years, the colorless, odorless gas was classified as a human carcinogen by the EPA in 2016. Studies have linked it to leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and breast cancer.
BD would not do an interview with Spotlight on America, but told us in a statement, the company is "committed to the safe and responsible operation" of its facilities and has made "significant investments to upgrade emission controls" at its sterilizers nationwide. You can read the company's full statement at the bottom of this article.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division's Air Protection Branch Chief Jim Boylan told Spotlight that following upgrades in 2020, the state concluded that surrounding communities were no longer at an "elevated risk" and sent us documents that say 97% or more of emissions from the Covington facility are now being contained, based on the company's self-reporting.
It wasn't until 2018 that the risk of EtO began to emerge publicly. That year, federal data revealed Covington was among about 100 census tracks nationwide with a higher cancer risk due in large part to ethylene oxide.
Public outcry after the disclosure led to tougher EtO rules in the state for medical sterilization facilities to get permits and a new Georgia law requiring more public transparency for EtO leaks at the facilities.
"Our Governor and our Attorney General brought suit against BD, and that resulted in finally an agreement with the company to increase safety measures," Geoffroy said.
Lawsuits move forward
Geoffroy is glad to see more EtO regulation today but says that doesn't change the history of EtO exposure over the years.
He is on a team of lawyers who won a landmark EtO case against BD this past May, where a jury awarded Covington trucker Gary Walker $20 million. The amount of punitive damages in his case is still to be decided. BD is appealing.
Geoffroy now represents more than 100 other cancer patients who are suing BD and blame the company's EtO emissions over the years for their illnesses, including Lisa, Connie, Shannon and David.
"What I think about is all those years that I was running, jogging, " David, an avid jogger who would run past the BD plant almost daily, told us. "I was breathing hard, and I was sucking in poison. And that was unfortunate."
A central area of concern for many in Covington is the baseball field right in the middle of town. It's located just 1/10th of a mile away from the BD facility. For decades, that field was a meeting spot for families who live in the area.
All four say they spent countless days and evenings there with their kids, practicing and playing on that field. Now, they can't help but wonder if the air they breathed for all those years during games and gatherings was dangerous.
"Knowing my kids have been around this, it just makes me sick to my stomach," Lisa said.
We asked if they had any idea of the risk over the years. In unison, all said, "No."
Now, they are especially concerned about the children in town, because the EPA determined EtO is 60-times more toxic to kids than originally believed.
"We raised our children in this community, and little did we know," Connie said. "Their little baby lungs were exposed to all this for all those many years."
Importance of sterilization
Geoffroy told us he believes a balance should be struck between the industry and public health.
"No one is going to take away from the importance of medical products or the medical industry and sterilization, included in that, but you can't prioritize those lives over the lives of people who live right down the street from your factory," he said.
More than 300 EtO lawsuits against the BD Covington plant are now moving forward, with trial dates expected to begin sometime next year.
The four citizens who spoke to us say they hope people will pay attention to what they believe is a toxic legacy that harmed so many in their small town.
"I want people to be held accountable," Shannon said. "We matter. I'm not a statistic, I'm a person with two beautiful children that lives in a beautiful community that just wants the opportunity to breathe. That's it."
Meantime, the fight over EtO is far from over. Communities across the country are in limbo as the Trump Administration reconsiders tougher emission rules, which were finalized by the EPA last year. We'll take a closer look at the heated debate over clean air versus national security, in our next report.
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You can read BD's full statement below. It was sent to Spotlight on America by Fallon McLoughlin, BD spokesperson:
"EtO is the only suitable sterilization method for many sensitive medical devices and is critical for public health and national security. BD is committed to thesafe and responsible operationof our medical sterilization facilities and has a long history of compliance with local, state and federal regulations related to EtO emissions.
In keeping with BD’s culture of continuous improvement, the company made significant investments to upgrade emission controls at facilities nationwide before the new NESHAP rule was issued and continues to evaluate new technologies as they are introduced and validated. BD is committed to meeting the new NESHAP requirements and per the President’s proclamation, as authorized by the Clean Air Act, we applied for and were granted two additional years to comply. This extension will ensure adequate time for design, procurement, permitting, construction, installation and testing of the equipment without disrupting the supply of critical medical devices or compromising the continued safety of its operations. For the upgrades that have not yet been implemented, BD will continue to expedite the completion of these upgrade projects to the extent practicable.
It is important to note that the concentration of EtO in the air around BD’s facilities is generally comparable to those measured at background sites where there are no known sources of EtO, including a state park that is 200 miles away, as concluded in the Nov. 30, 2023 Ethylene Oxide Monitoring Report from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD)."
