CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Seventeen-year-old Alexandra Collins is a budding environmentalist.
She attended a community forum in May 2019 about carcinogenic ethylene oxide emissions produced by the now-closed Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook.
She asked a question of an Environmental Protection Agency doctor there but a question was dismissed. She told the Daily Herald she was stunned. She had done research on the issue and formed Students Against Ethylene Oxide (SAEtO), a student activists group dedicated to protecting the community. She said her anger became a turning point.
She pushed harder on the environmental issue and in a few months, the Sterigenics plant closed permanently.
Alexandra is among 25 winners of the 2021 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, which honors outstanding young people who've made a significant positive impact.
The top 15 winners, including Alexandra, get $10,000, which she said she plans to use for college.
Related
