Trump, Rauner administrations knew about Sterigenics cancer risks months before telling public
By Michael Hawthorne / Chicago Tribune
Posted at 2:49 PM Updated at 2:49 PM
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration knew in December that toxic air pollution from the Sterigenics plant in west suburban Willowbrook likely was responsible for some of the highest cancer risks in the nation, according to a letter obtained by the Tribune.
The governor’s office and the Rauner-led Illinois Environmental Protection Agency kept the politically explosive information from the public for eight months, then initially downplayed the dangers posed by a company owned in part by the incumbent Republican’s former private equity firm.
Disclosure of the previously unknown warning about Sterigenics comes as angry and frightened neighbors vow to pack a hearing in the Loop called by state lawmakers who are scrambling to respond to health dangers in a swath of suburban Chicago that also is a key battleground in the Nov. 6 election.
Other records obtained by the Tribune show the Rauner administration worked behind the scenes with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency between December and August on a more intensive investigation of Sterigenics and discussed potential solutions to the company’s pollution problems.
State officials ended up deferring to political appointees in President Donald Trump’s administration to determine when and how the public was told about what insiders understood months earlier, the records show.
In the Dec. 22 letter, sent to a Sterigenics executive, a top official in the U.S. EPA’s Chicago office outlines the results of a preliminary federal analysis linking unusually high cancer risks in the Willowbrook area to the company’s emissions of ethylene oxide, a potent gas used to sterilize medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food.
Copied on the letter is Julie Armitage, chief of the Illinois EPA air bureau.
“EPA has calculated a cancer risk of approximately 1,000 in a million at the nearest residence, exceeding our typical upper limit of cancer risk acceptability,” wrote Ed Nam, director of the regional U.S. EPA air and radiation division. “EPA would like to provide Sterigenics with the opportunity to review our modeling and to suggest improvements for accuracy.”
Federal regulators generally target polluters when local cancer risks are more than 100 in a million. Based on air samples collected in May in neighborhoods near Sterigenics, an arm of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the cancer risks from breathing ethylene oxide pollution could be orders of magnitude higher than initially estimated: up to 6,400 per million, or more than six cases of cancer for every 1,000 people.
The Illinois EPA responded to the report by quietly giving Sterigenics a permit to voluntarily install new pollution-control equipment, making it more difficult for authorities to pursue legal action against the company unless it can be shown the fix has failed to eliminate health risks from ethylene oxide pollution.
Sterigenics says recent testing found the new equipment has substantially reduced its emissions of the dangerous gas. “Sterigenics’ Willowbrook facility operates safely today as it has throughout its history,” the company declares on a webpage that attempts to sow doubt about the EPA’s conclusions.
Federal officials say the company released uncontrolled amounts of ethylene oxide from building vents for more than 30 years. In 2016, after a decade-long review of peer-reviewed scientific studies, the EPA declared the volatile chemical poses long-term cancer risks at extremely low levels.
About 19,000 people live within a mile of the Willowbrook facility. Four schools and a day care center also are close by, including Hinsdale South High School in Darien and Gower Middle School in Burr Ridge.
“I cannot put into words the extreme concern and worry I have for our health and safety while this facility is in operation,” a Burr Ridge woman wrote in one of more than 100 complaints emailed to the Illinois EPA and provided to the Tribune under the Freedom of Information Act. “I am appealing to you as a parent who is trying to protect her children.”
“This company needs to go,” a Willowbrook resident wrote.
Long considered a destination for young families moving out of Chicago, the village and surrounding suburbs are among just a few dozen communities nationwide where toxic air pollution is responsible for higher-than-allowed cancer risks. Most of the risks in the other cities also are from ethylene oxide exposure, the EPA revealed when it finally released its latest National Air Toxics Assessment on Aug. 24.
Asked Thursday about the December letter, spokespersons for the federal and state agencies said they delayed informing the public because they wanted to make sure the initial U.S. EPA estimates were correct.
“Without additional analysis from USEPA, IEPA was not in a position to take action,” Kim Biggs, a spokeswoman for the state agency, said in an email. “The Illinois EPA is very concerned about potential adverse health impacts that may be caused by the operations of Sterigenics and is committed to doing everything within our authority to bring all possible relief to Willowbrook and the surrounding communities.”
The federal agency said the December letter was intended to give Sterigenics a chance to respond to the EPA’s concerns before the public release of its analysis. “Verifying emissions is a critical step in NATA development,” Jeff Kelley, director of the EPA’s regional communications office, said in an email, using the acronym for the air toxics assessment.
After the Tribune first reported about the cancer risks in Willowbrook and Rauner’s connections to Sterigenics, the governor said the Willowbrook facility operated well within the law.
“This is not an emergency,” Rauner told reporters following an unrelated Aug. 28 event. “My understanding is that particular company has followed all the regulations and the proper procedures.”
Rauner appointees later refused to provide key documents about the Willowbrook facility to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, required the state’s chief lawyer to request the records under the Freedom of Information Act and delayed providing the information until after the Tribune inquired about the dispute on Sept. 20.
Less than two weeks later, with fellow Republicans in DuPage County, both of the state’s U.S. senators and Democratic gubernatorial challenger J.B. Pritzker clamoring for more aggressive action, Rauner joined a chorus of politicians demanding that Sterigenics cease operations unless the company can prove its pollution no longer increases the risk of developing cancer.
The company is still operating.
Rauner has said he no longer has a stake in Sterigenics, contrary to his most recent statement of economic interests. Spokespeople for his campaign and government office told the Tribune that Rauner sold his interest as part of a 2015 deal but have not produced documents showing the transaction took place.
Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com
********************************************************************************************************************************************
*** UPDATED x1 *** Was the fix in for Sterigenics?
Friday, Oct 26, 2018
* Michael Hawthorne at the Tribune…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration knew in December that toxic air pollution from the Sterigenics plant in west suburban Willowbrook likely was responsible for some of the highest cancer risks in the nation, according to a letter obtained by the Tribune. […]
In the Dec. 22 letter, sent to a Sterigenics executive, a top official in the U.S. EPA’s Chicago office outlines the results of a preliminary federal analysis linking unusually high cancer risks in the Willowbrook area to the company’s emissions of ethylene oxide, a potent gas used to sterilize medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food.
Copied on the letter is Julie Armitage, chief of the Illinois EPA air bureau.
“EPA has calculated a cancer risk of approximately 1,000 in a million at the nearest residence, exceeding our typical upper limit of cancer risk acceptability,” wrote Ed Nam, director of the regional U.S. EPA air and radiation division. “EPA would like to provide Sterigenics with the opportunity to review our modeling and to suggest improvements for accuracy.” […]
The Illinois EPA responded to the report by quietly giving Sterigenics a permit to voluntarily install new pollution-control equipment, making it more difficult for authorities to pursue legal action against the company unless it can be shown the fix has failed to eliminate health risks from ethylene oxide pollution.
* Two House committees are holding a joint hearing today. Sterigenics has provided a statement to the committee. Its conclusion…
Sterigenics remains committed to the safe use of EO for the sterilization of life-saving medical products at our Willowbrook facility. We work every day to improve patients’ lives. We understand that the materials we use in our processes require diligent stewardship and we take our responsibility very seriously. Our mission, Safeguarding Global HealthTM, begins and ends with the safety of people in mind. We have always worked with the USEPA, ILEPA, OSHA, and the FDA with a commitment to the safety of our employees, the communities and environment in which we operate, and the patients we help to protect. Our employees and their families live in Willowbrook and the surrounding communities and the health and wellbeing of the residents in those communities is very important to us. We outperform the standards set for the safe operation of our facilities and commit to continue to take a leadership role in evolving regulations to reassure residents that they are safe.
*** UPDATE *** State Sen. John Curran…
“It is unacceptable, and beyond comprehension, that the United State Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency failed to inform residents in a timely manner about the elevated cancer risks associated with the emission of ethylene oxide from the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. From the moment this issue first came to light in late August, I demanded that Sterigenics cease operations immediately, and I reiterate that call today. As elected officials, our number one priority is to the health and well-being of our residents. In light of today’s discovery, I am calling on these two agencies to provide me with a detailed, written explanation on why they waited so long to inform my constituents about this health risk. Time is of the essence, and their joint delay has done a great disservice to my constituents.”
* US Sen. Dick Durbin…
This is a downright disgrace. Once again, the Rauner and Trump Administrations prioritized public relations over a serious public health hazard. Now, the U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA must finally step up its monitoring of this facility and be fully transparent with the public about the information they have about Sterigenics. Additionally, we need more emissions testing at this plant - something I’ve asked the EPA for repeatedly - a timeline for the EPA to set new health-based standards, and a public meeting for Willowbrook residents. Illinoisans deserve better than this.
- Posted by Rich Miller
Above is from: https://capitolfax.com/category/illinois/updated-post/
