Specter | Kline & Specter
PHILADELPHIA – Sixteen people who developed cancer, some of them fatally, and their families have brought suit against German medical device manufacturer B. Braun, alleging that emissions of a carcinogenic gas called ethylene oxide (EtO) from the company’s plant in Hanover Township led to their illnesses.
The plaintiffs filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on May 4 versus B. Braun Medical, Inc., B. Braun Of America, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, B. Braun Cegat, LLC, B. Braun Interventional Systems, Inc. and John Doe, all of Bethlehem.
Ethylene oxide, or EtO, a chemical used to sterilize medical equipment, was deemed a human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA data, according to plaintiff counsel, showed that the cancer risk from the colorless gas present in one Hanover Township neighborhood was substantially higher than the average amount measured statewide.