Carol L. Hanley is one of six women who got cancer after working near Sterigenics, a sterilization plant, and are suing the company, according to a Jan. 30, 2020, report.
Hanley, of Clarendon Hills, worked at Hinsdale South High School for more than two decades, between 1980 and 2002. The school was less than a mile away from the sterilization plant.
Have you or a loved one been involved in an accident? Speak to a lawyer for a free no obligation consultation
Or call us at (888) 699-7975
In August 2019, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and is now undergoing daily radiation treatments. Hanley believes her condition was caused by the toxic ethylene oxide emissions from the Willowbrook, Illinois, plant.
During classes, Hanley would often have the windows open because there was no air conditioning. She sponsored homecoming activities and spent many hours outside when the Sterigenics plant was operating.
Hanley said her life has been changed forever. She could not put up Christmas decorations because her illness left her too weak to carry them all. Hanley is also not strong enough to walk her two dogs at the same time.
This lawsuit was filed on Dec. 26 and is the 76th suit to be filed against Sterigenics. The other five members of the lawsuit are Rose Keppler, of Highland; Jeanne Conrad-DeBroeck, of Lisle; and Marguerite Vahldieck, Mary Margaret Eskey, and Carol Tufo, all of Naperville.
According to the report, Eskey has a form of lymphoma, which is cancer that affects white blood cells. The other four women have breast cancer.
All six members of the lawsuit worked at Hinsdale South High School.