Bill Text: IL SJR0027 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider the serious concerns of the residents of Lake County over the recent ethylene oxide emissions due to the environmental and public health threats it poses to the people of Illinois. Urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct ambient air monitoring and testing in and around the two known facilities emitting or discharging ethylene oxide in Lake County. Urges the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to take whatever actions possible to assist in the ambient air monitoring and protection of the public in regards to the environmental and health risks posed by ethylene oxide emissions in Lake County.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-01 - Adopted Both Houses [SJR0027 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SJR0027-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Constitution of the State of Illinois asserts | ||||||
3 | that the public policy of the State and the
duty of each person | ||||||
4 | is to provide and maintain a healthful environment for the | ||||||
5 | benefit of this and
future generations; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The General Assembly shall provide by law for the | ||||||
7 | implementation and
enforcement of this public policy; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Ethylene oxide is a known carcinogen and its | ||||||
9 | discharge and emission into the atmosphere
in high | ||||||
10 | concentrations constitutes a threat to public health and | ||||||
11 | safety; and
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12 | WHEREAS, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and | ||||||
13 | Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
are charged with the | ||||||
14 | enforcement of our federal and State environmental laws and | ||||||
15 | standards to
ensure pollutants or discharges from Illinois | ||||||
16 | businesses do not put the health and welfare of Illinois
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17 | residents and workers in jeopardy; and
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18 | WHEREAS, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | ||||||
19 | completed multiple air sampling and tests
around the | ||||||
20 | Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook that discovered heightened | ||||||
21 | levels of ethylene
oxide in the air around the facility; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Following the results of those tests, the Illinois | ||||||
2 | Environmental Protection Agency issued a
seal order preventing | ||||||
3 | the use of ethylene oxide by a facility in Willowbrook on | ||||||
4 | February 15,
2019; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Lake County has two facilities currently | ||||||
6 | permitted to emit and discharge ethylene
oxide; and
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7 | WHEREAS, No state or federal agency has yet to conduct | ||||||
8 | ambient air quality or sampling tests around
the Lake County | ||||||
9 | facilities that emit and discharge ethylene oxide; therefore, | ||||||
10 | be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
12 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
13 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the U.S. Environmental | ||||||
14 | Protection Agency to
consider the serious concerns of residents | ||||||
15 | of Lake County regarding the recent ethylene oxide emissions
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16 | and the subsequent environmental and public health threat posed | ||||||
17 | to the people of Illinois; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection | ||||||
19 | Agency to conduct ambient air monitoring
and testing in and | ||||||
20 | around the two known facilities emitting or discharging | ||||||
21 | ethylene oxide in Lake County; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Environmental | ||||||
2 | Protection Agency to take whatever actions possible to
assist | ||||||
3 | in the ambient air monitoring and protection of the public in | ||||||
4 | regards to the environmental and
health risks posed by ethylene | ||||||
5 | oxide emissions in Lake County.
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