ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida Department of Health study has determined there is no evidence of cancer cluster in the Orange County neighborhoods surrounding OUC’s Stanton Energy plant.

The results of the study comes in response to a class-action lawsuit filed a year ago, which blames the plant for a spike in cancer cases.

“I still have concerns,” Carlos Guffain said shortly after reading a letter addressed to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings regarding the study.

The study describes that after testing of zip codes around the Stanton Energy Center by the state, there is no evidence to substantiate a suspected cancer cluster of pediatric brain cancers.

Spectrum News 13 met Guffain in February at a meeting where an attorney leading a class-action lawsuit spoke with people who live near the plant, presenting their own environmental study and test results.

The lawsuit claims that coal ash from the plants has raised cancer rates in the nearby community and led to cancer-related deaths of some children in the area.

Guffain, who has lived in the nearby Orange County community for about 15 years, said he is ultimately hoping for a positive resolution.

“I am delighted and very happy to see the (Florida) Department of Health get involved, and again, if this study and the study from the attorneys can be reconciled to the satisfaction of everyone, then I will be very delighted,” Guffain said.

“We are hoping that these findings that there is no evidence of a cancer cluster around the Stanton Energy Center will alleviate any concerns of our customers that are living nearby,” said OUC spokesperson Tim Trudell said.

Trudell said the letter from the Florida Department of Health was discussed at a recent Orange County Commission meeting. He could not talk to Spectrum News 13 about the pending lawsuit.

In the meantime, Guffain said he will continue to wait for an end result, hoping that his community is a safe place to live.

Attorneys leading that class-action law sent a statement to Spectrum News 13 the following statement:

“Upon what we have seen, the testing that was reported is based upon incomplete sampling and an incorrect protocol, thus it could not and would not have captured the contaminants which we allege have been released from the Power Plant into the community.”

A hearing regarding that lawsuit is scheduled in federal court on January 14, 2020.