Sterigenics: Hinsdale 86 Makes a Good Start

Most of us near the Willowbrook, IL area have become aware of the health risks posed by the release of ethylene oxide (EtO) into the atmosphere by the Sterigenics facilities located in Willowbrook, and the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 (D86) school board became yet another governmental body to publicize this problem last Thursday (August 8, 2019). With the unanimous (7-0) passage of Resolution #20.02 and the introduction of a section on its web site devoted to “Sterigenics Information,” the board has taken the first steps in fulfilling its responsibility to inform the Hinsdale South High School community (where EtO contamination was high)—including residents, students, employees, and past employees—of their exposure to this carcinogen. There are, however, other important actions the board has yet to take.

I taught English at South from 1987-2012 and have already reviewed the impacts EtO has had on my family and me, so I have a keen interest in this and was at the Committee of the Whole meeting where the resolution was passed and the site was introduced. And it’s only right, first of all, for all of us to acknowledge that the D86 board’s actions are positive and should be recognized as such. On the information page, the board has provided links to recent news, a timeline of what has occurred so far, sign-ups for community members and former students/employees to receive email updates, contact information for individuals at relevant governmental agencies, online resources for information on Sterigenics and EtO, and a copy of Resolution #20.02. All of this increases awareness of the problem and provides affected individuals with necessary information to help them make informed decisions. Kudos to D86’s board for the steps it has taken so far to address this mess.

It is crucial to remember, however, that the staircase to the resolution of this problem has even more steps which still need to be scaled—this motion and accompanying web site should not be seen as the end of D86’s work on the Sterigenics problem. Of particular interest to me, in Section five of the resolution, for example, the board resolves to contact “governmental agencies and bodies the Superintendent deems appropriate to determine what efforts” have been made to contact anyone impacted by EtO exposure and “to offer the District’s cooperation and assistance in such efforts.” While that might be enough for current employees, students, and residents; merely offering assistance will not cut it for those who have left the district, especially past employees likely to be overlooked by other governmental agencies. Without direct contact efforts by D86, it is all too likely that past employees will fall through the notification process cracks. (And it should be emphasized that any notification process must include not just ex-teachers but support staff members as well since custodians, secretaries, and aides were exposed to exactly the same toxic air as everybody else.)

No governmental agency outside of D86 would be able to attempt to contact those who no longer work in the district—which agency outside of D86 would have the slightest idea where to locate these individuals years or even decades later? D86, in contrast, should have at least some human resource records of many of its past employees. I was shocked at the meeting to hear the HR head claim that D86 wouldn’t have any records earlier than 1994. Even assuming some kind of 25-year limit on district records (which is what the 1994 limit would suggest), it certainly wouldn’t be impossible for the district to consult past yearbooks from South to find those who worked there during the period when Sterigenics was operating but have been purged from D86 records (1984-94, apparently). And if the yearbooks weren’t enough, with a few phone calls, I’m willing to bet that ex-employees still in the area would be happy to volunteer to help find the contact information of those for whom addresses weren’t readily available. In this age of social media, its seems plausible that virtually anybody could eventually be found and notified.

It shouldn’t matter, though, if this project turns out to be difficult and time consuming. D86 has a moral responsibility to make a good-faith effort at the very least. And I don’t state that lightly; I feel exactly the same psychic weight myself since I was a past union leader at Hinsdale South. Like the district, I hadn’t the slightest idea that EtO was negatively impacting those who came to work every day while I worked there, but now that I know, I feel an intense obligation to make everybody who worked at South cognizant of their exposure. Not only are there potential health risks of which I am acutely aware, but the lawsuit to hold Sterigenics accountable has time limitations. Plus, the privilege to represent my colleagues in contract negotiations and grievances (I was both chief spokesperson during the 2003 and 2006 contract creation as well as South’s grievance chair for many years) comes with a clear duty to protect my people from harm. That nobody knew of the harm which was going on at the time mitigates any guilt I might feel about what happened back then, but that lack of ignorance no longer applies for either me or the D86 board. We must help everyone affected to know what took place, where they can get good information, and what legal rights they have.

Current teachers (many of whom have been working at South for decades) have the Hinsdale High School Teachers Association (HHSTA) to represent their interests to the school board; I believe contract negotiations are currently underway, and union negotiators can bargain clauses to ensure teachers are informed and protected. Past employees do not have anywhere near that kind of access to assistance, and many are scattered all over the country (at least one I know of has retired to Australia), where news of Sterigenics may be nonexistent. It comes down to others to make sure they learn what they need to know. D86 is the only entity with both the resources and the data to make that happen.

Again, I do not want to minimize the positive steps which came from the August 8th D86 board meeting with its resolution and web site sources—those were excellent actions in this new era of environmental disasters with which we are all dealing. That additional actions to make sure past employees are notified were not directly addressed does not demean what was done, but there is clearly more work to do. Given the direction exhibited this past Thursday night, I’m confident that those of us responsible for making certain everyone dosed by Sterigenics’s pollution knows of their risks and options can get this done. Thanks for what you’ve done so far, D86; now let’s hope everybody can work together to complete what has yet to be accomplished.