Lawsuits against American Contract Systems allege that ethylene oxide released from the company’s medical sterilization plants exposed nearby residents and workers to a cancer-causing gas for years. More than a dozen cases have been filed so far, centered on the company’s Temple Terrace, Florida facility, and attorneys are investigating additional claims tied to a second Florida plant in Fort Myers.1Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay Toxic Gas Temple Terrace Cancer Risk
Who Is Suing and What They Allege
The plaintiffs are people who lived or worked near the ACS plant at 7802 East Telecom Parkway in Temple Terrace, which operated from 2016 until December 2025. At least 20 individuals have identified themselves as plaintiffs in more than a dozen lawsuits. They allege that ethylene oxide, a colorless and odorless gas the EPA classifies as carcinogenic to humans, seeped from the facility and caused them to develop cancers including breast cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma. One named plaintiff, Tim McKeehan, is a 63-year-old lifelong area resident diagnosed with lymphoma in 2023.1Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay Toxic Gas Temple Terrace Cancer Risk
The suits name both ACS and BayCare, the local nonprofit hospital chain that owned the building housing the plant. ACS is a contract sterilizer that processes surgical trays, kits, and other medical devices for hospitals, and it is a subsidiary of Owens & Minor, Inc.2FDA. Owens & Minor, Inc. dba American Contract Systems, Inc. Warning Letter
What ACS and BayCare Say
Lawyers for both defendants have moved to dismiss the cases. An ACS spokesperson said the company is committed “to upholding the highest environmental and health standards” and “disputed any assertions that it acted irresponsibly when using ethylene oxide.” ACS also denied misleading federal regulators about whether pollution filters had been installed. BayCare said it is “taking these allegations very seriously” but declined to comment further, citing a policy against discussing pending litigation.1Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay Toxic Gas Temple Terrace Cancer Risk
The Fort Myers Investigation
No lawsuits have yet been filed over the ACS plant at 11600 Adelmo Lane in Fort Myers, but attorneys are actively looking for potential claimants. As of mid-2025, attorney Joshua Hertz was leading an investigation seeking people who lived or worked within five miles of that facility at any point since 2011 and were later diagnosed with cancer.3Gulf Coast News Now. Law Firm Cancer Fort Myers Plant Toxic Emissions
Before pollution controls were added, the Fort Myers plant emitted roughly five pounds of ethylene oxide per day. In July 2023, ACS installed two dry bed scrubbers overseen and tested by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; the scrubbers were reported to be 99.9% effective, cutting daily emissions to less than 0.05 pounds.4Florida DEP. ACS Fort Myers Emissions Update A December 2024 EPA inspection found the facility’s lifetime cancer risk had dropped below the agency’s 100-in-one-million level of concern.3Gulf Coast News Now. Law Firm Cancer Fort Myers Plant Toxic Emissions Claims under investigation focus on the earlier years, when emissions were far higher.
The Evidence Behind the Claims
A Tampa Bay Times investigation reported that pollution-reducing filters were available to ACS at Temple Terrace but sat uninstalled, stored behind cardboard boxes, until at least July 2023. The EPA initially left the Temple Terrace site off its list of high-risk facilities and, by its own later acknowledgment, underestimated cancer risks in the surrounding area by as much as 40 times because regulators mistakenly believed the filters had already been installed. Local regulators said existing federal rules were too vague to allow them to mandate stricter controls during the plant’s early years.1Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay Toxic Gas Temple Terrace Cancer Risk
In 2025, local regulators fined ACS more than $30,000 for failing to maintain air filters, failing to submit required samples, and failing to file an annual report. ACS shut the Temple Terrace facility in December 2025, and the parent company declined to give a reason. No information about environmental remediation at the abandoned site has been made public.5Yahoo News. Know Toxic Ethylene Oxide Tampa
How These Claims Compare to Other Ethylene Oxide Cases
The ACS lawsuits are part of a broader wave of litigation against sterilization companies that followed the EPA’s 2016 reassessment of ethylene oxide, which reclassified the gas from “probably carcinogenic” to “carcinogenic to humans.” The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a Group 1 carcinogen.6National Institutes of Health. Ethylene Oxide Carcinogenicity Assessment
The clearest reference point is Sterigenics, a competing sterilizer. In January 2023, Sterigenics settled 870 lawsuits over its Willowbrook, Illinois plant for $408 million, averaging roughly $450,000 per plaintiff. It has since continued settling: 97 lawsuits for $31 million in April 2025, and 129 more claims in July 2025.7MedTech Dive. Sterigenics Ethylene Oxide Settlement EPA Rules8Sotera Health. EO Litigation Steris Corporation announced a $48 million settlement in June 2025 to resolve lawsuits tied to a Waukegan, Illinois plant. No ACS-related case has resulted in a settlement.
Current Status
As of mid-2026, the ACS and BayCare lawsuits remain pending, with defendants seeking dismissal and plaintiffs pressing forward. The Fort Myers investigation is still open and looking for potential claimants who lived or worked near that plant since 2011 and later received a cancer diagnosis. If you fit that description, or you spent time near the Temple Terrace plant between 2016 and 2025 and have since been diagnosed with breast cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma, a claims investigation is the practical starting point.