Letter to J.B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois - Casten, Durbin, Duckworth, Schneider, Underwood Request Urgent Action from Governor, EPA in Response to Lake County Ethylene Oxide Results

Letter

Dear Governor Pritzker:

We write to you regarding the recently released preliminary data from ambient air monitoring for ethylene oxide (EtO) in Lake County. We are deeply alarmed by these results and urge you to take appropriate action at the state-level.

Following air monitoring conducted by the U.S. EPA that showed dangerous levels of EtO in Willowbrook, you rightly issued a seal order for the facility in order to ensure the public health and safety of the surrounding community. While the results for Lake County are preliminary and based on a small sample size, the air monitoring for EtO around the Medline facility show dangerous ambient levels of this known carcinogen. In light of these alarming results, we urge you to take all appropriate actions to protect the public health of our constituents and reassure families who live near the Medline facility in Waukegan.

We commend Illinois, Lake County, Gurnee, Waukegan, and Park City for their leadership addressing EtO in the absence of action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Despite repeated calls -- from us and from our constituents -- to conduct ambient air monitoring and to fulfill its proper role enforcing the safety of the air we breathe, U.S. EPA has inexplicably dragged its feet and abandoned its duty to protect public health. We also have been deeply frustrated by U.S. EPA's lack of willingness to engage the public on the issue and its refusal to hold any community forum for Lake County residents to better understand the threat posed by EtO.

We trust you will treat these results with the same judicious approach as the ambient air data from Willowbrook and your next steps will reflect the seriousness that this situation merits. We will continue to hold U.S. EPA accountable for its dereliction of duty. Please do not hesitate to let us know how else we can be helpful.

Sincerely,

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