Retired Hinsdale Teachers Sue Sterigenics: Update

DARIEN, IL — Six retired Hinsdale South High School teachers are suing the owner of the nearby Sterigenics plant, which is accused of emitting thousands of pounds of a cancer-causing pollutant for decades. The teachers' lawyer said the company knew about the dangers of emitting ethylene oxide even before it opened the plant's doors in 1984. In a statement to Patch, Sterigenics denied the claims.

The six retired teachers all suffered from breast cancer or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which has the strongest link to ethylene oxide of any disease, their lawyer, Shawn Collins, said at a new conference Friday afternoon. The school in Darien is three-quarters of a mile away from the Willowbrook plant, which the state closed earlier this year.

Collins said the teachers were at the school when Sterigenics was emitting "massive quantities" of ethylene oxide, which is used to sterilize medical equipment. These days, a plant can emit no more than 85 pounds of ethylene oxide in a year, but Sterigenics sent 100,000 pounds into the atmosphere one year, Collins said.

Collins said he has been handling these types of cases for a couple decades, but he has never dealt with a situation where such a dangerous chemical was released into a residential community.

"They knew before they opened the doors that they would be dealing with a very dangerous chemical," Collins said at the news conference. "It would go wherever the wind would take it."

In a news release, Collins said technologies to control ethylene oxide have been in place since the 1980s and the cancer-causing effects of the chemical have been known since the 1940s. "But Sterigenics operated for years in Willowbrook without using the best practices and controls to reduce its emissions. As a result, Willowbrook became one of the most toxic towns in America," he said.

He said his clients exercised regularly and ate healthy, but all suffered breast cancer or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Their lawsuit is among dozens against Sterigenics.

At the news conference, Carol Tufo, 75, said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, a few years after she retired from her job as a guidance counselor at Hinsdale South. She held back tears as she described her cancer, saying it was "very aggressive and hard to treat." She underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy and 33 rounds of of radiation.

Tufo said she still suffers from the effects of the cancer, but added, "Damn it, I'm a strong person."

Both Tufo and another retired teacher, Jeanne Conrad-DeBroeck, said they found out about Sterigenics' link to breast cancer only a few months ago when a former colleague sent a letter notifying them.

Conrad-DeBroeck said after receiving the letter, it dawned on her that "there was really a lot of cancer in the building."

"There has to be a connection here," she said. "This is criminal."

Sterigenics spokesman Bryan Locke denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

“Sterigenics empathizes with anyone battling cancer," Locke said in an email to Patch. "Sterigenics is confident that it is not responsible for causing the illness. We operate safely to sterilize vital medical products and have consistently complied with and outperformed applicable regulations. We intend to vigorously defend against unfounded and meritless claims."

According to Collins' news release, these are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit:

• Mary Margaret Eskey taught at Hinsdale South from 1978 to 1996. After she started suffering from fatigue, severe bone and body aches, and chronic infections, she was diagnosed in 2013 with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• Marguerite Vahldieck taught at Hinsdale South from 1982 until a breast-cancer diagnosis compelled her retirement in 2012. She endured a lumpectomy, lymph node removal, radiation, and anti-cancer medicationss for five years.
• Carol Tufo, a counselor at Hinsdale South from 1981 to 2001, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, undergoing a biopsy, lumpectomy, lymph node dissection, eight rounds of chemotherapy and 33 radiation sessions.
• Jeanne Conrad-DeBroeck taught full time at Hinsdale South from 1979 until 1999 and then as a substitute teacher until 2011. After her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015, she had a double mastectomy, reconstruction surgeries, and radiation, as well as chemotherapy that caused permanent nerve damage in her legs.
• Rose Keppler was a teacher at Hinsdale South from 1978 until 2009, and for much of that time also served as the director of the school’s special services. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, undergoing a lumpectomy and radiation,
• Carol Hanley taught at Hinsdale South from 1980 until 2002. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August. She underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and lymph nodes. She plans to start radiation treatment when she has healed from the surgery.