Congressman Donalds tours facility that spewed cancerous gas

Congressman Byron Donalds told WINK News about his tour of the Fort Myers facility that was spewing cancerous gas in an exclusive interview.

On June 22, The Environmental Protection Agency announced that people near the Lee Sars American Contract Systems plant in Fort Myers could be at an increased risk to develop cancer.

Since the facility’s opening in 2011, located along Adelmo Lane, it has spewed a toxic gas called Ethylene Oxide (or ETO) into the air.

The plant voluntarily installed devices called scrubbers that reduced ETO emissions by 99.9%. Afterward, Congressman Byron Donalds toured the facility.

Donalds told WINK News that the Center for Disease Control also performed cancer cluster testing in the neighborhoods nearby.

“There were no discernible findings from the cancer cluster study,” Donalds said.

According to the CDC’s website, cancer cluster testing looks at cancer trends based on geological regions, but local Amber Cebull and many others said it’s not good enough.

“If no one’s dropping dead from it right now, then obviously, it’s not a problem to them,” Cebull said.

Donalds is pushing the CDC to offer more specific testing to people who fear they may develop cancer in the future.

“We can’t even begin to estimate what the long-term impacts of this on anything, to be honest with you,” Cebull said. “I think that the way our government works, the way the CDC works, is that until it’s absolute wildfire, like COVID, for example, that they just aren’t going to address it.”

Congressman Donalds said he will continue to push for transparency and testing.