Last Tuesday, a bipartisan lawsuit was filed urging the state to shut down Sterigenics, a plant located in the western Chicago suburb of Willowbrook, because it is violating laws and harming residents. Attorney Lisa Madigan and DuPage County's State Attorney Robert Berlin have insisted that the plant be closed or the emissions limits should be enforced.
The gas being released is a toxic chemical known to increase risks of breast cancer and lymphomas called ethylene oxide. Prior to July, Sterigenics had been releasing the gas directly into the air and exposing the residents in the area, of those nearly 19,000 people live within a mile of the facility.
The lawsuit details the potential damage the emissions can cause to individuals, especially children. There are four schools and a daycare facility near Sterigenics. In May, air samples were collected in the neighborhoods surrounding the plant and a federal branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that there could potentially be six cases of cancer for every 1,000 people each year. Learn more about the lawsuit by reading the Chicago Tribune article here.
If you live in or near the Willowbrook area and have been diagnosed with cancer, please contact the attorneys at Hurley McKenna & Mertz for a free no-obligation consultation. Our trial attorneys have the experience necessary to determine if you have a case and will fight for what is right.