SR2073 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR2073 LRB100 23736 ALS 42783 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, It is the mission of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) to "safeguard environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State, so as to protect health, welfare, property and the quality of life"; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois EPA exists within the Executive Branch of State government and carries out the Governor's environmental policy within the framework of State and federal laws; and

WHEREAS, The Governor appoints the director of the Illinois EPA; and

WHEREAS, The Citizens of Willowbrook and the surrounding populous areas of Southeast DuPage County are located within close proximity to Sterigenics International, a company which specializes in fumigating medical instruments, pharmaceutical drugs and food to kill bacteria; and

WHEREAS, Sterigenics International utilizes a gas called ethylene oxide as a main component in the fumigation process; and

WHEREAS, The chemical ethylene oxide has been on the federal list of carcinogens since 1985 and has been linked more conclusively to breast and blood cancer by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2016; and

WHEREAS, According to published reports, the Citizens of Willowbrook and the surrounding areas of Southeast DuPage County may be exposed to a strikingly-high level of cancer-linked toxins as a result of Sterigenics International's use of ethylene oxide; and

WHEREAS, According to published reports by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the cancer risks from breathing ethylene oxide pollution in Southeast DuPage communities could be up to 6,400 per million, or more than six cases for every 1,000 people; and

WHEREAS, In August of 2018, the Illinois EPA declined to provide the Office of the Attorney General with key documents about highly toxic ethylene oxide gas emitted by Sterigenics International; and

WHEREAS, It has been published that the Illinois EPA released said documents to the Office of the Attorney General only once pressured to do so by House Republican Leader Jim Durkin and Senator John Curan, who represent the affected area of Southeast DuPage; and

WHEREAS, It is the moral and ethical responsibility of the Executive Branch to implement a sound environmental policy and to respond swiftly to emergencies that directly impact the health of the Citizens of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we condemn the wholly deficient response by the Governor's Office to the developing health crisis in Southeast DuPage County; moreover, we demand the Governor's Office and the Illinois EPA's prompt and unreserved cooperation with the Illinois Attorney General's Office, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, local governments, and stakeholders affected in order to expeditiously resolve this crisis.