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Waukegan City Council has supported an appeal by two US Senators and a Congressman to investigate carcinogens released from two facilities in Lake County, but some residents in Waukegan are asking the municipal authorities to do more.
This decision follows a Chicago Tribune investigation that found that more than 42,000 people in Lake County were breathing ethylene oxide emitted from a chemical plant owned by Vantage Specialty Chemicals in Gurnee and by a distributor of medical products called Medline Industries in Waukegan.
The letter sent on November 9 by US Senator Dick Durbin, US Senator Tammy Duckworth and US Representative Bradley Schneider asks the EPA to assess the current public risk and enact all necessary regulations to protect health public.
Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said his plan was to wait for the EPA's findings, which he wants to have evaluated, possibly by an outside entity, so that the city can decide to its next steps, including challenging the findings of the EPA. Cunningham said the city was not informed when the report would be available.
A handful of residents addressed the issue at Monday's city council meeting, expressing their disappointment at not having been informed of the risks earlier and explaining the difficulties in getting answers to their questions.
"Nobody lives voluntarily in these dangerous areas and we should no longer have to move to escape them," said a resident, who said she had settled in Waukegan in 2014.
City of Waukegan officials should not rely solely on environmental agencies in the United States and Illinois to deal with the situation, but instead use their national authority to force Medline to make changes said another resident.
The problem is less legal than logistics, said city lawyer Bob Long. The city could possibly use its authority, but regulation of atmospheric emissions would require expertise and equipment that it does not have.
The Lake County Health Department does not have the power to regulate emissions, said Executive Director Mark Pfister, who spoke at the meeting.
The ministry ensures that environmental protection agencies in the United States and Illinois "protect the health of Lake County residents," Pfister said.
Pfister said the Lake County Health Department was aware on Nov. 2 of concerns about ethylene oxide emissions from Vantage Specialty Chemicals and Medline Industries. Since then, department staff have investigated the matter and discussed it with state and federal officials, he said.
The two companies have informed EPA officials that they will voluntarily install additional controls to reduce their ethylene oxide emissions, which will require an EPA license to Illinois before it can be installed, Pfister said.
An "additional reduction technology" will be installed as early as the first quarter of 2019 in order to reduce ethylene oxide emissions from the Waukegan factory's aeration vents, said in a statement Lara Simmons, president of the quality assurance and regulatory affairs division of the Medline Group.
A spokeswoman for the company was not able to answer the next question immediately by asking what technology it was, if the rear vents were the main source of emission and if other measures were taken with other sources of emission.
The company also continues to invest in equipment to keep facilities safe and to keep up with changing sterilization methods, Simmons said.
EPA officials also told county officials that they would create a web page specifically designed for residents of Lake County, which would provide updates on the investigation, future ethylene oxide interventions and the results of the control. The website went live on Wednesday.
Waukegan Ald. Ann Taylor, whose service includes the Medline facility, said she was also concerned but was pleased with the way the Ministry of Health was addressing the issue.
"I want to pay attention to how we handle this," Taylor said. "I realize with Medline the product they manufacture for sterilization. I want to make sure that we do not end up shutting them up or fining them to the point of causing a health crisis and that they do not have a sterile way of getting things done. "
Ethylene oxide is a colorless gas used to sterilize equipment. That's why Medline uses it, or to make other products, as Vantage uses it, Pfister said.
Prior to December 2016, the EPA had classified ethylene oxide as a "potential carcinogen" based on risk modeling, Pfister said. It is now classified as carcinogenic to humans.
According to the EPA, long-term exposure to ethylene oxide can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat and lungs and damage the brain and nervous system, resulting in headaches, memory loss and numbness.
Studies show that exposure to high levels of ethylene oxide over many years increases the risk of cancers, particularly white blood cells and breast cancers, according to the EPA .
In her statement, Ms. Simmons highlighted 13 studies in five countries on sterilants and chemistry workers conducted in more than 40 years. No studies have shown an upward trend for any type of cancer.
When asked if Medline had disputed the EPA's conclusion that ethylene oxide was causing cancer, Simmons issued a complementary statement claiming that the scientific community "strongly criticized "The EPA report according to which ethylene oxide was classified as carcinogenic, reporting in particular Mr. Jane Teta, an epidemiologist specializing in ethylene oxide, who was retained by Medline as an independent consultant.
Teta said the report is misleading and greatly exaggerates the health risks, according to Simmons' written statement.
The company is asking the National Academy of Sciences, a private non-profit organization created by Congress, to review the report and make recommendations.
Twitter @mekcoleman
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