Sterigenics Won't Reopen In Willowbrook, Company Confirms

WILLOWBROOK, IL — Sterigenics will abandon its plan to resume operations and ethylene oxide emissions at its facility in Willowbrook. The company cited an "unpredictable legislative and regulatory landscape" in Illinois and an "uncertain operating environment" while announcing the change of plans on Monday. Also, they couldn't reach an agreement on a new lease there.

The sterilization company previously had entered an agreed order, one that was approved by a DuPage County judge, with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency that would have allowed them to reopen their facility that was closed earlier this year as long as they would significantly reduce ethylene oxide emissions.

Elected officials began reacting to the news of Sterigenics' plan to leave Willowbrook immediately.

“Sterigenics got the message that we were never going to let them reopen their doors and poison our communities again,” Illinois House of Representatives member Jim Durkin, a Republican from Western Springs, said.

State Senator John Curran, a Republican from Downers Grove, called the development “tremendous news" for Willowbrook and nearby towns.

"The risks involved with this facility re-opening were simply too great to the public health," he said. "This announcement from Sterigenics is the direct result of the tireless advocacy of Stop Sterigenics and other community organizations who have proven once again that when we all work together, we will not be stopped.”

Here's what Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker had to say after he found out.

My statement on Sterigenics’ decision to shut down. pic.twitter.com/5ZCGK9NIEa
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 30, 2019

The company faces several dozen lawsuits by family members who claim Sterigenics and its years of ethylene oxide emissions is responsible for a number of serious illnesses and deaths. It has been shut down since February, when a seal order was issued by the EPA.

A statement from Sterigenics on Monday indicated they could not reach an agreement to renew its lease on the Quincy Street facility in Willowbrook based on the "present environment."

Sterigenics will continue to operate in other states, however. Like in Illinois, an anti-Sterigenics effort has begun in Georgia.

Here's the full statement Sterigenics released on Monday:

Sterigenics appreciates that the State of Illinois has clearly acknowledged the company’s consistent record of regulatory compliance as well as the safety of the new controls we agreed to implement, and we made every effort to reach a constructive resolution. Unfortunately, inaccurate and unfounded claims regarding Sterigenics and the unstable legislative and regulatory landscape in Illinois have created an environment in which it is not prudent to maintain these critical sterilization operations in Willowbrook.

Hospitals and patients around the United States and the world depend on Sterigenics for vital, sterilized medical products, and we cannot provide them with the certainty they require while operating safely in a state that will suspend operations of a business despite the company’s compliance with applicable rules and regulations. We are actively taking steps to ensure customer and patient needs continue to be met by our other facilities and are working with our employees throughout this transition.

Sterigenics will continue to lead the way in industry safety by voluntarily implementing new controls at our other sterilization facilities. These controls will set a new standard for EO emissions and reaffirm our longstanding commitment to go beyond regulatory requirements.

Sterigenics sterilizes and decontaminates products that protect over one million patients and consumers every day. Sterigenics understands and takes seriously our responsibility to sterilize these vital healthcare products while protecting employees and the communities in which we operate. We are proud to be one of several companies that safely sterilizes critical and lifesaving medical products.

We continue to work with communities and regulators to establish the strongest possible control environment across our network of EO sterilization facilities and challenge our industry peers to join us in upgrading each of the more than 100 EO sterilization facilities in operation across the country.