Ethylene Oxide Update #37: June 17, 2020

In this update includes:

• Final set of results from Phase III samples received
• Results included five days of samples from 12 locations for a total of sixty samples
• All results are being submitted to the USEPA, ATSDR, IEPA, and IDPH

The third phase of outdoor air monitoring in Lake County began April 4, 2020. Samples were collected from 12 sites every third day during a 30-day period, which ended on May 2, 2020. The three phases of air monitoring were conducted over 120 days, with samples collected on 54 separate days between June of 2019 and May of 2020. A total of 606 samples were collected throughout the program, with an additional 54 samples collected by Medline and Vantage.

Now that the outdoor air monitoring program has concluded, the complete results have been forwarded to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) for further analysis, and to the Illinois EPA which has regulatory authority over EtO emissions permitting in Illinois.

The ATSDR has agreed to conduct a health risk assessment for Lake County based on the results, and Illinois Department of Public Health has agreed to complete a cancer incidence study that includes Lake County. These analyses are expected to take several months.

The results of the all previous testing be viewed at: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/4188/EtO-Monitoring-Results

The spreadsheet of all results is available at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mrY1MbFWUT5-ysl7SpD74CKMKOMo4x9i5wZAArdYJ2k/edit?usp=sharing