Sterigenics-Type Pollution May Be Allowed Under Trump: Report

BURR RIDGE, IL – President Donald Trump is poised to allow exemptions for pollutants such as ethylene oxide, which a Willowbrook plant was accused of emitting for years.

Last week, The Associated Press reported that Trump's Environmental Protection Agency created a special online portal for companies to seek two-year exemptions for emitting toxic chemicals such as ethylene oxide, mercury, arsenic and benzene.

Five years ago, Sterigenics closed its Willowbrook plant amid government investigations and a barrage of complaints alleging that it was emitting ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing pollutant.

Two years ago, Sotero Health Co., Sterigenics' parent company, announced it was paying out $408 million for more than 870 cases related to the pollutant. But it denied liability and said the settlement should not be seen as an admission.

A year earlier, a Willowbrook woman who lived less than a half mile away from the medical sterilization plant for more than 30 years was awarded $363 million by a Cook County jury. The jury determined Sterigenics was liable for the woman developing breast cancer.

The woman, Sue Kamuda, was the first of hundreds of people to sue the firm.

In a recent letter to the EPA, industry trade groups called for the agency to base its decisions on sound science and "reflect a reasonable assessment of the risks and benefits involved," according to the AP report.

The groups said Biden administration rules on ethylene oxide and other chemicals "unfortunately" undermine those objectives and impose "improper and significantly costly requirements on an unworkable timeline."

A White House spokesman told the AP that no decisions have been made on the exemptions, but added that he could confirm "President Trump’s commitment to unleashing American energy, protecting our national security interests and ensuring environmental stewardship.”