EPA 'Forcibly Suppressed' Info: Burr Ridge Official

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge and Willowbrook want to see whether it's worth their while to sue the U.S. EPA over allegations it withheld information about pollution from the now-closed Sterigenics plant.

This week, the Burr Ridge Village Board agreed to join with Willowbrook in hiring Chicago-based Schiff Hardin law firm to explore the possibility of a lawsuit against the EPA.

"We want to get more information to see just how complete this hiding of information was by the U.S. EPA and possibly the Illinois EPA and give us an opinion in writing about what our rights are under the Federal Tort Claims Act," Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso told the board.

Willowbrook spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in its fight to close Sterigenics, which is within its borders and emitted ethylene oxide for years, Grasso said. Other towns, including Darien and Hinsdale, joined the battle.

Burr Ridge spent about $75,000, including for lawyers, air pollution monitoring and a lobbyist to promote legislation to deal with Sterigenics, according to the village.

"We have been partners with (Willowbrook) in fighting Sterigenics," Grasso said. "I thought it was important that we partner with them on this. It doesn't mean we're committed in the long-term."

In April, the EPA's inspector general released a report critical of the agency's handling of Sterigenics. It alleged the agency withheld information from residents about ethylene oxide emissions from Sterigenics. Ethylene oxide is labeled a cancer-causing pollutant.

Trustee Guy Franzese liked the idea of what he called a fact-finding mission by the law firm.

"I was upset to learn from this recent government report that the director of air emissions of the EPA forcibly suppressed ethylene oxide emission data and health hazard data from the public, directed his underlings to hold data back from those most affected by these ethylene oxide emissions," Franzese said.

Grasso said that while the village may ultimately decide a lawsuit is not worth it, the information from the investigation may provide valuable information to residents who have already filed Sterigenics-related lawsuits.

The two villages plan to spend up to $10,000 on the initial investigation, with Burr Ridge expected to cover as much as $4,000 of the cost.