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RESOLUTION OPPOSING U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S RESCISSION OF ETHYLENE OXIDE EMISSIONS STANDARDS FOR STERILIZATION FACILITIES RESIDUAL RISK AND TECHNOLOGY REVIEW RULE resolution
WHEREAS, ethylene oxide (EtO) is a flammable, colorless gas that is used to sterilize medical devices and is a potent and known carcinogen, its discharge or emission into the atmosphere constitutes a threat to public health and the environment; and
WHEREAS, more than 14.2 million people live within five miles of an EtO-emitting facility in the United States, with a 2023 Union of Concerned Scientists' study finding that the average risk of cancer from air toxics was nearly three times the national average in communities located near EtO emitting facilities; and
WHEREAS, in 2018 and 2019, DuPage County worked with the Villages of Willowbrook, Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, and the City of Darien (the "Communities") to oppose emissions of EtO by Sterigenics, in the County; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, DuPage County State's Attorney, Robert Berlin, and the Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, together brought a lawsuit under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act for injunctive relief and civil remedies to redress the harmful effects of EtO; and
WHEREAS, in 2018 the DuPage County Board amended the DuPage County Code prohibiting emissions of EtO more than one hundred tons per year to protect the residents of DuPage County; and
WHEREAS, as a result of these actions, the State of Illinois passed tighter restrictions on ethylene oxide use in Public Act 101-0022, wherein EtO sterilization facilities are prohibited from operating in Illinois unless the facility captures 100 percent of all fugitive EtO emissions within the facility and the facility reduces EtO emissions to the atmosphere from each exhaust point by at least 99.9 percent or to 0.2 parts per million; and
WHEREAS, in 2024, the federal government found that EtO poses a risk to workers,...
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