CHICAGO TOXIC TORTS ATTORNEYS

Helping victims of toxic exposure across Illinois.

Exposure to dangerous substances such as pesticides, chemicals or environmental toxins can cause lasting and potentially fatal health defects. Toxic tort litigation can compensate consumers and residents who were impacted by faulty products or negligent practices and policies.

Toxic torts often appear in the form of environmental hazards such as contaminated air and water supplies. People who live and work near industrial sites or toxic landfills have been found to be more likely to develop certain types of cancer or illness. Many torts stem from occupational or home exposure to toxins like asbestos, benzene, lead paint and dry cleaning solvents. Common consumer products — including pesticides, insecticides and household cleaners — can also have adverse health consequences. Patients who experience unintended side effects of pharmaceutical drugs may have grounds for toxic tort litigation.

STERIGENICS

From 1984 to 2019, Sterigenics used ethylene oxide — a known carcinogen — to sterilize medical equipment at its 24-hour plant in Willowbrook, Ill. The public remained in the dark until 2018 when two federal reports revealed the extent of ethylene oxide (EtO) exposure caused by the southwest suburban facility. Tens of thousands of people who lived in Cook and DuPage counties had been exposed to dangerously high levels of an invisible, cancer-causing toxin for more than three decades.

Sterigenics never pursued safer alternatives to ethylene oxide or adequately studied or tested air quality. Though the plant was shut down in 2019 following public protests and intervention by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), people who lived or worked near the facility continue to suffer lasting health effects. Acute exposure to ethylene oxide can lead to vomiting, neurological disorders, bronchitis, pulmonary edema and emphysema. Chronic exposure can cause cancer, birth defects, reproductive and developmental impairments and damage to brain and nervous systems. READ MORE

ETHYLENE OXIDE

Though Sterigenics’ Willowbrook facility was shuttered in 2019, facilities across the U.S. continue to use ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen. In Illinois, Medline Industries uses the cancerous gas at its Waukegan plant, while Vantage Specialty Chemicals utilizes it in Gurnee. As public outcry against the use of ethylene oxide grows louder, it is likely that state and federal legislation will curtain emissions in the future. But people who live and work near many facilities are not guaranteed legislative action and cannot escape years — if not decades — of ethylene oxide exposure. Mass tort litigation has the potential not only to provide financial support to those who have suffered but also to push companies toward safer policies and practices.