"Sterigenics is a step closer to reopening its sterilization plant in west suburban Willowbrook, but local officials and community groups are pushing new measures that could drive the company out of town.
Under a legal settlement approved Friday by a DuPage County judge, Sterigenics is required to limit emissions of cancer-causing ethylene oxide to just a few dozen pounds a year. The Oak Brook-based company will not be cleared to resume operations in Willowbrook until it can show that proposed improvements to its pollution-control equipment work as intended.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Robert Berlin, the DuPage County state’s attorney, said their deal with the company expands on a recently enacted state law targeting Sterigenics and Medline Industries in north suburban Waukegan, another firm that uses the highly toxic gas to sterilize medical equipment."
Michael Hawthorne and Clifford Ward report for the Chicago Tribune September 6, 2019.
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