Medline Temporarily Halting Operations In Waukegan As It Works To Comply With Emissions Rules
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) -- Medline is temporarily halting operations at its medical sterilization plant in Waukegan as it works to comply with new emissions rules.
Medline said it has been working around the clock to complete nearly $10 million in upgrades at the facility, and has already installed "world-class" emissions abatement equipment. While completing the final stages of testing the equipment, the facility will temporarily halt operations.
Employees will not be impacted, a spokesman said.
RELATED: Families Turn Out At Waukegan City Council Meeting To Express Worries About Ethylene Oxide At Medline Plant | Testing Shows Increased Levels Of Potential Cancer-Causing Gas In Blood Of Residents Near Medline Plant | Blood Tests Show Higher Levels Of Potentially Cancer-Causing Gas In Those Who Live Near Waukegan Medline Plant
Late last year, a limited study by the University of Illinois at Chicago found higher levels of the chemical ethylene oxide in the blood of people living near the Waukegan plant.
The study found that the average level of EtO in the blood of people living closer to the plant was significantly higher than the average in the group that lived farther away.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey was the first to expose the levels of EtO found in the blood of 11-year-old Kobe Darden. His family lives about a mile from Medline and participated in the UIC study.
Medline said Monday that three months of ambient air tests released by the Lake County Health Department show a pattern of "extremely low" background levels of EtO at the Waukegan plant near tis facility, which it called "further evidence that our sterilization operation is conducted safely."