On 8/5/20 the Village of Gurnee (VoG) posted an EtO update filled with LIES in coordination with the Illinois EPA regarding EtO testing results near Vantage.
We realize this is a heavy accusation. BUT, allow us to explain.
VoG just claimed Vantage is within IEPA permit limits, implying the EtO emission problem is solved.
It is not!
Why would they do such a thing? We believe they want to control the narrative prior to any new legislative sessions in hopes of preventing stricter EtO regulations. And why would they want to do that? LOL! It’s Illinois, Land of Lincoln, oops, Land of Political Corruption. Plus, when have you ever heard Mayor Kovarik embrace Gurnee has an EtO problem?
Regardless of WHY, here’s HOW we substantiated our conclusion:
Vantage’s IEPA permit only allows them to emit a total of 110 pounds of EtO per year. Yet based on our calculations, Vantage emitted 560 pounds of EtO in April 2020 alone.
And if Vantage monthly emission rates resemble April 2020, then they are on track to release 6,770 pounds of EtO this year (far beyond what they self-reported last year).
Either way, they appear to be over their permitted limit. How do we know? LCHD collected data. The Lake County Health Dept tested air samples near Vantage in April 2020. (ILEPA paid for testing in order to confirm the newly installed Vantage and Medline emission controls worked as intended). The April testing was meant to allow ILEPA to wipe its hands clean of Lake County’s EtO issue.
Unfortunately, it appears April “safe” EtO emissions test bombed. We’ve analyzed the data using AERMOD, the software the US EPA uses to determine emissions. We also used US EPA parameters for our calculations to estimate emissions from Vantage using LCHD’s raw data.
There are so many reasons why you should believe StopEtO and NOT the VoG and the ILEPA.
Mainly, you don’t need fancy software to see what we see. Literally anyone who looks at these values can immediately tell emissions are high. For this you need to know just 2 things:
1.) The best EtO background level we think Lake County can achieve is approximately 0.16 μg/m3. (This background value is registered as an average compiled during December 2019 when Medline temporarily shutdown and is coincidentally similar to Willowbrook’s background level post Sterigenics closure.)
2.) According to Vantage’s ILEPA permit, emissions should be averaging 0.0142 μg/m3.
To determine if canister readings are higher than permit allows, we can add the background level and Vantage’s predicted contribution. Thus, 0.16 + 0.0142 = 0.1742. So, if Vantage is operating within permit limits, canisters should record values near 0.1742 μg/m3. Let’s round that to 0.2 μg/m3 for simplicity’s sake.
Depending on wind direction, any canisters reading higher than 0.2 μg/m3 should be ringing alarm bells, for the US EPA established their “actionable limit” at 0.02 μg/m3, which corresponds to a 100-in-a-million lifetime cancer risk. Anything above that level dramatically raises cancer risks.
Now let’s look at some April canister readings just near Vantage. Many show at least one or more readings above 0.2 μg/m3; most vary around ~0.5 to 0.8 ug/m3.
Note, there are more like the above readings but we didn’t include them because they are so repetitive. But look at the 4/19/2020 readings below. They record at 5.49 ug/m3 and 4.12ug/m3! They are dangerously high! Bad cancer-causing high! The kind of readings no resident wants their Mayor, County, or State government to ignore.
Yet here we are. Faced with the fact the Village of Gurnee is flat out lying to residents to protect polluters. Meanwhile, children in Gurnee and Waukegan continue to get leukemia and lymphomas.
Utterly disgraceful. Criminal even.
Please share this post with your social network. EtO education is extremely important for our community. Lake County must not become invisible.
And one last thing, EtO prices hit an all time March low of $0.10 per pound. Meaning polluters and some politicians measure our lives and health in mere pennies and will do everything to keep cheap EtO the norm because safer alternatives are more expensive (and take away from political contributions).
DEMAND legislators push for stronger laws to protect us. DEMAND clean air.
Thank you and stay healthy!
Stop EtO in Lake County 