Full Text of SR2073 100th General Assembly
SR2073 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, It is the mission of the Illinois Environmental | 3 | | Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) to "safeguard environmental | 4 | | quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the | 5 | | State, so as to protect health, welfare, property and the | 6 | | quality of life"; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois EPA exists within the Executive | 8 | | Branch of State government and carries out the Governor's | 9 | | environmental policy within the framework of State and federal | 10 | | laws; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The Governor appoints the director of the Illinois | 12 | | EPA; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Citizens of Willowbrook and the surrounding | 14 | | populous areas of Southeast DuPage County are located within | 15 | | close proximity to Sterigenics International, a company which | 16 | | specializes in fumigating medical instruments, pharmaceutical | 17 | | drugs and food to kill bacteria; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Sterigenics International utilizes a gas called | 19 | | ethylene oxide as a main component in the fumigation process; | 20 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The chemical ethylene oxide has been on the | 2 | | federal list of carcinogens since 1985 and has been linked more | 3 | | conclusively to breast and blood cancer by the United States | 4 | | Environmental Protection Agency in 2016; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, According to published reports, the Citizens of | 6 | | Willowbrook and the surrounding areas of Southeast DuPage | 7 | | County may be exposed to a strikingly-high level of | 8 | | cancer-linked toxins as a result of Sterigenics | 9 | | International's use of ethylene oxide; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, According to published reports by the United | 11 | | States Department of Health and Human Services, the cancer | 12 | | risks from breathing ethylene oxide pollution in Southeast | 13 | | DuPage communities could be up to 6,400 per million, or more | 14 | | than six cases for every 1,000 people; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, In August of 2018, the Illinois EPA declined to | 16 | | provide the Office of the Attorney General with key documents | 17 | | about highly toxic ethylene oxide gas emitted by Sterigenics | 18 | | International; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, It has been published that the Illinois EPA | 20 | | released said documents to the Office of the Attorney General | 21 | | only once pressured to do so by House Republican Leader Jim | 22 | | Durkin and Senator John Curan, who represent the affected area |
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| 1 | | of Southeast DuPage; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, It is the moral and ethical responsibility of the | 3 | | Executive Branch to implement a sound environmental policy and | 4 | | to respond swiftly to emergencies that directly impact the | 5 | | health of the Citizens of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we condemn the wholly | 8 | | deficient response by the Governor's Office to the developing | 9 | | health crisis in Southeast DuPage County; moreover, we demand | 10 | | the Governor's Office and the Illinois EPA's prompt and | 11 | | unreserved cooperation with the Illinois Attorney General's | 12 | | Office, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, | 13 | | local governments, and stakeholders affected in order to | 14 | | expeditiously resolve this crisis.
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