Sterilization and testing laboratories company Sotera Health has agreed to pay $408 million to settle claims that the company used a known carcinogen in its sterilization process. The gas emitted from one of their facilities contaminated the air, affecting the nearby area.

The settlement comes after two lawsuits accused the company of inflicting harm on individuals who lived nearby the company’s Chicago facility. One of the lawsuits was in favor of the company while the second lawsuit resulted in a $363 million verdict for the plaintiff. The plaintiff who won the multimillion-dollar verdict argued that as a result of living near the facility, she developed cancer due to exposure to the carcinogen. Outside of these two lawsuits, over 800 other complaints were filed against the company alleging similar claims.

A majority of the cases have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings at the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and the settlement is still subject to approval from the court.

The chemical in question is ethylene oxide which was used to sterilize medical equipment near the company’s facility. This chemical is also listed as a carcinogen by the National Institute of Health. Sotera Health has a plant located in the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook, but the facility was shut down in 2019 after high levels of the compound were detected in nearby areas. Officials allowed the company to reopen the facility if they met strict regulation standards; however, Sotera Health opted not to move forward with the reopening.

After agreeing to the settlement, the company issued a statement that explained that moving forward with a settlement will allow the company to “focus its full attention on operating the business, serving our customers and delivering on our mission of Safeguarding Global Health.”

While the company did not specifically admit to any wrongdoing, it did distance itself from any liability. The company explained that the Willowbrook facility “did not pose a safety risk to the community in which it operated and believes the evidence and science ultimately would have compelled the rejection of the plaintiff’s claims.

In addition to its statement reacting to the settlement, Sotera Health shared that it would have the right to not move forward with the settlement if under the following circumstances: “a) any of the plaintiffs who choose to opt out of the settlement meet certain specified criteria, b) the claims administrator determines that 40 or more plaintiffs do not have valid claims or c) more than five new lawsuits are filed by plaintiffs’ lawyers who are representing plaintiffs in pending lawsuits that are encompassed by the settlement.”

Additionally, plaintiffs will have 30 days to decide whether they will opt-in to the settlement.