June 21, 2019: The Lake County Health Department, City of Waukegan and Village of Gurnee received the first set of results from their joint outdoor air monitoring for ethylene oxide (EtO) near Vantage Specialty Chemicals in Gurnee and Medline Industries in Waukegan. These preliminary results indicate the presence of EtO at elevated levels at one location in Waukegan, and at varying and lower levels at all other sites. See the the entire Lake County Health Department press release at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/ILLAKE/bulletins/24cbe96
Residents seeking the monitoring results information from June 21st can find updates at https://www.lakecountyil.gov/4188/EtO-Monitoring-Results
Residents seeking the latest information from the Lake County Health Department can find updates at https://www.lakecountyil.gov/4158/Ethylene-Oxide-in-Lake-County
On November 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a web page to address recent concerns regarding EyO emissions from two facilities in Lake County, Illinois: Medline Industries in Waukegan, and Vantage Specialty Chemicals in Gurnee.
Residents seeking information about EtO in Lake County can find the latest updates at https://www.epa.gov/il/addressing-ethylene-oxide-emissions-lake-county-illinois.
The US EPA has been working with Illinois EPA to examine emissions information from both the Medline and Vantage facilities to determine potential next steps. Questions and concerns should be sent via email to the U.S. EPA at eto@epa.gov
.