Ethylene Oxide Statistics in Willowbrook
14,000
Residents within 1-mile elevated risk zone
Up to 9x national average
Cancer risk elevation near Sterigenics facility
35 years (1984-2019)
Years Sterigenics operated in Willowbrook
$408M+
Total IL Sterigenics settlements
Courts in Willowbrook, Illinois
Circuit Court of Cook County — Law Division
50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602
Hospitals & Trauma Centers in Willowbrook
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital — Cancer Center
300 Randall Rd, Geneva, IL 60134
Rush Copley Medical Center
2000 Ogden Ave, Aurora, IL 60504
Liability Considerations in Willowbrook
The Willowbrook Community's Fight
For 35 years, residents of Willowbrook, Illinois lived, worked, and sent their children to school without knowing that a sterilization facility in their community was emitting one of the most potent carcinogens known to science. Sterigenics International operated a facility at 7775 Constitution Drive using ethylene oxide since 1984. The community was not informed of the risk until EPA data was made public in 2018.
The resulting litigation — consolidated in Cook County Circuit Court — has become one of the most significant environmental toxic tort cases in Illinois history. Over $408 million has been paid to Willowbrook-area residents with cancer. The facility was permanently closed in 2020 after the Illinois legislature passed legislation requiring companies to demonstrate their emissions meet health-based standards.
Your Legal Team
Amanda Foster
Partner
Chicago, IL
Amanda Foster has been at the forefront of the Willowbrook, Illinois ethylene oxide litigation since its inception in 2018. She has represented hundreds of Cook County residents against Sterigenics and its parent company Sotera Health, and has been instrumental in securing over $400 million in settlements for Illinois claimants. Amanda serves on the board of the Illinois Environmental Law Alliance and is a recognized expert in the intersection of environmental science and toxic tort litigation.
Education
- J.D., Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (2010)
- B.S., Environmental Science, University of Illinois (2007)