Assembly Member Santiago and Community Partners Call to Shut Down Sterigenics

(Los Angeles, CA) – Today, Assembly Member Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) partnered with Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office and community leaders to call on Sterigenics to immediately shut down. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) found that Sterigenics, an industrial facility in Vernon, emitted high levels of Ethelyne oxide (EtO), a cancer-causing chemical, for months. SCAQMD will host a hearing on Tuesday requiring Sterigenics to implement mitigation measures.

To view footage of the press conference, click here:

“Sterigenics must shut down until they stop poisioning our communities with cancer-causing chemicals,” said Assembly Member Santiago. “Sterigenics has polluted our air for months. Many children here have asthma and many community members have pollution related health problems. Enough is enough! No more EtO, no Exide 2.0. We will not stop until our neighborhoods are safe and our air is clean.”

“For months now, the SCAQMD has had proof that Sterigenics is emitting dangerously elevated levels of Ethylene Oxide, putting at risk the health of workers here in Vernon and residents just a few hundred feet away in Maywood,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor, Janice Hahn. Our message is simple: the SCAQMD needs to enforce their own rules, and immediately shut this facility down until it comes into compliance. There can be no compromise when it comes to the health of our communities and protecting the air they breathe.”

"We stand united against any individual or corporation that puts our southeast LA families at higher risk for cancer,” said Huntington Park Mayor Eduardo “Eddie” Martinez. “Where we live and work impacts our everyday health and well-being. We demand Sterigenics stop the release of cancer-causing chemicals into our communities’ air."

“Sterigenics is just one of the latest of the many cancer causing plants in Vernon that we in the southeast live with constantly,” said Monsignor John Moretta. “I hope the AQMD does not give any slack to them in their meeting on Tuesday. Please mandate an immediate a clean-up or shut them to protect the workers and the thousands of neighbors.”

Assembly Member Miguel Santiago is the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Los Angeles County Homelessness. He also sits on the Assembly Committees on Public Safety, Health, Higher Education and Utilities and Energy. He represents the 53rd District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon.