Westmont, Illinois
Date Issued: 2018-10-31
On October 30, Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin in a lawsuit in DuPage County against Sterigenics. The move was in response to a request made by area elected official in early September to shut down the Sterigenics Willowbrook facility.
The initial request and resulting lawsuit are in regard to public health concerns caused by the emission of ethylene oxide into the air by Sterigenics. The lawsuit against Sterigenics U.S. LLC alleges pollution violations due to the release of ethylene oxide into the air. In addition to filing suit, both Attorney General Madigan and State’s Attorney Berlin ask the Illinois General Assembly to address the public health impacts from the use of ethylene oxide, a chemical used to sterilize medical equipment. Senator John Curran of Downers Grove has filed Senate Bill 3640, which would deny renewed permits for companies found to be emitting ethylene oxide that exceed state and federal levels, while also working to prohibit the eventual use of all ethylene oxide in Illinois by 2022.
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Contact: Larry McIntyre
Village of Westmont
Communications Director/Public Information Officer
630-417-0280
lmcintyre@westmont.il.gov
