The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) keeps an electronic database that lists the cancer-causing potential of different substances. The EPA first classified ethylene oxide (EtO) as a possible human carcinogen in 1985. Fifteen years later, the EPA changed EtO’s status to a known human carcinogen.
What is a Carcinogen?
Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer by changing the structure of DNA.
Humans are exposed to many substances at any given time, so it’s very difficult for scientists to determine whether their exposure to a certain substance is linked to cancer. Researchers often base their opinions about human risk on results from experiments on animals.
Not all humans who come into contact with carcinogens will develop cancer. It all depends on the length and intensity of their exposure, their genetic makeup, and the way in which they were exposed.
For example, asbestos is a known human carcinogen. It has been proved to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and many other cancers. Ethylene oxide is considered in the same category as asbestos.
What Happens When You’re Exposed to Ethylene Oxide
Humans are most likely to inhale or ingest EtO on the job. Companies that use EtO should, in theory, take precautions to control their EtO emissions, but in some cases, they don’t. Sterigenics International in Willowbrook, Illinois is one company that has been using EtO as a sterilizing agent for medical equipment for over 30 years, and hasn’t always taken a strict-enough approach to controlling release of the gas into the environment.
Sterigenics representatives claim that the gas dissolves into the environment quickly, and therefore poses little threat to the community. A recent study conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ASDTR) contradicts that statement. The study concludes that the cancer risk around Sterigenics is 64 times the acceptable limit, solely because of Sterigenics’ negligent emissions.
People living and working within approximately two miles of this facility may have been exposed to EtO for the past three decades. Many have reported being diagnosed with one of the below cancers.
- Lymphoma
- Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Leukemia
- Breast Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Brain Cancer
- Uterine Cancer
For a free legal consultation, call 800-934-6555
Contact a Sterigenics Claims Lawyer Today
Due to the risk of developing known side effects in the future, we believe that everyone living or working within two miles of Sterigenics (7775 South Quincy Street, Willowbrook, IL 60527) may have a claim. Talk to a medical malpractice lawyer from our firm about your symptoms, your doctor’s recommendations, and anything else you might find useful in building a case. You might be eligible to significant monetary compensation and even non-economic damages to cover your medical bills, lost income, pain & suffering, and more.
If you’ve lived or work within two miles of Sterigenics at any point in that time period, contact us today. All conversations are confidential, and filing a claim is free.
Call or text 800-934-6555 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
