Law Firms Representing Individuals & Families Suffering from Carcinogenic Emissions Related Health Issues Respond to Allegations made by former Sterigenics Employees

The information shared yesterday by former Sterigenics International employees is deeply troubling to our clients and law firms, and should be taken seriously by the citizens of Illinois – especially those living and working near the Sterigenics International plant in Willowbrook.

As we learned, Sterigenics’ reports of its emissions are not an accurate representation of the amount of ethylene oxide that has actually gone into the surrounding communities for years. While Sterigenics is subject to regulations regarding its ethylene oxide emissions, those regulations only cover emissions specifically from the sterilization chambers. As we learned last night, Sterigenics has used additional facilities to store off-gassing product which did not have proper ventilation or pollution controls to capture and filter the ethylene oxide before it was emitted into the atmosphere. This creates even greater concern that the levels of ethylene oxide being emitted into the community are far greater than ever reported.  Additionally, these other locations may expand the zone of danger for surrounding residents as they provide other geographical emission sources of ethylene oxide. 

Equally as alarming is that Sterigenics clearly has an utter disregard for the safety of their employees within the facility. Actions taken to rig the baseline units which detected the levels of ethylene oxide highlights the culture of Sterigenics as an organization and its disregard for the known, adverse effects of ethylene oxide on the human body.  If Sterigenics can’t take care of its own people, it is inconceivable that they would take any precautions to protect those in the community who are faceless and nameless to them.  

Every day Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., Power Rogers & Smith, L.L.P., The Collins Law Firm, P.C., Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, and Corboy & Demetrio, P.C. are fighting to provide support for individuals and families who are suffering from cancer, birth defects and miscarriages among other catastrophic injuries due to these carcinogenic emissions from the Sterigenics International plant in Willowbrook, Illinois. We must hold Sterigenics accountable for their reckless negligence that has resulted in the needless and continuous poisoning of men, women, and children in Illinois for so many years.