Carus Chemical’s (Carus LLC) primary product, potassium permanganate, is best known as a chemical for treating municipal drinking water. It was originally made for use in explosives during WWI, and it is used in mining, fracking, and refining crude oil. Illicit drug manufacturers also make cocaine with it.
The company also produces phosphates and has current contracts with the Department of Defense. It is protected from FOIA laws as a chemical weapons manufacturer under Executive Order 2023-03 signed by Illinois Governor Pritzker in March 2023, shortly after the Carus chemical factory warehouse started on fire and rained chemicals onto the town of LaSalle, Illinois.
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FILTER & SOIL TESTING!!! We are working with Sierra Club to test furnace/air filters & soil for contaminants from the chemical fire & Carus’ plumes. Contact Jamie Hicks 815-252-4417 for information. Sierra Club Illinois will be present at the LaSalle City Council meeting on Monday, March 6th to discuss these chemicals, health effects and results…
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On January 11, 2023, the Carus Chemical manufacturing plant in LaSalle, Illinois had an explosion & started on fire. Chemicals rained down onto the neighborhood and damaged homes and cars. Jamie Hicks and other residents have been complaining since 2017 to the City of LaSalle and Carus about the building behind their homes and semi-truck…
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Below are email communications between the City of LaSalle and Carus Chemical that were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, regarding the Carus Chemical explosion and fire.
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Below are meeting minutes from the March 13, 2017, LaSalle City Council meeting. At the meeting, Jamie Hicks complained about truck traffic and damage to the neighborhood from Carus’ truck. Despite his many complaints over the years, he was never told there was a chemical storage building in his backyard.
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Thank you, Mark Schneider, for standing behind residents of LaSalle who are affected by Carus’ carelessness and for having the courage to speak up.
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Carus Chemical says it will remove materials from La Salle warehouse within 2 weeks City says company initially provided misinformation during an email exchange LaSalle News Tribune/ Shaw Local News: https://www.shawlocal.com/news-tribune/news/2023/02/22/carus-chemical-says-it-will-remove-materials-from-la-salle-warehouse-within-2-weeks/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_NewsTrib&fbclid=IwAR2Hb_8tSLhxVhGkSelYndbQZh31Qum5ksWzlg3BbUCB-leXMTE5vi_rcg4 La Salle to test 6 more residences for chemicals in the aftermath of Carus fire ‘We can start moving forward,’ La Salle resident says…
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Mark Schneider, 4th Ward former alderman for LaSalle, Illinois, is speaking up about how Carus Chemical is not being a good community partner after their chemical manufacturing plant exploded and rained toxic chemicals onto the LaSalle neighborhood.
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The Sierra Club has been a wonderful resource for the community as we navigate through the fallout of the Carus Chemical disaster. As Hannah and Sonya wrote in the below article, what happened that day was straight out of a disaster movie – a chemical cloud covered the sky and rained down on the City of LaSalle,…
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LaSalle resident, Jamie Hicks was interviewed on WLPO, Starved Rock News-Talk radio about the aftermath of the Carus Chemical disaster. Jamie was outside when the explosion happened, which caused chemicals to rain down on to a LaSalle neighborhood. Jamie’s body was covered in purple chemicals as was his home, truck and yard. He says the…
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Ottawa’s city council met in July 2022 and approved Carus Chemical to use the Ottawa South Towne Mall to store hazardous chemicals. Only one person went to the Ottawa City Council meeting when this proposal was being discussed. According to Shaw Local News, the only reason he came was because he was concerned about the…
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Carus Chemical told the EPA they didn’t know what was inside the Apollo Warehouse, a building that is on their property, located next to a residential neighborhood, separated by a chain-link fence. Meanwhile, 4 days after this email exchange between Carus Chemical and the EPA, Carus was photographed and filmed hauling 7 truckloads of unlabeled…
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Sierra Club Analysis & Notes: The below information was provided by the Sierra Club: Results compared to RSL in soil The results for two metals, Manganese and Thallium were above the EPA regional screening levels (RSL) for residential soil. Three results, Selenium, Cadmium and Cobalt, were above the Noncarcinogenic Screening Levels – Child criteria. The…
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The Sierra Club has been a wonderful resource for the community as we navigate through the fallout of the Carus Chemical disaster. As Hannah and Sonya wrote in the below article, what happened that day was straight out of a disaster movie – a chemical cloud covered the sky and rained down on the City…
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Thank you for this! Well researched and it highlights the problem of making poisonous substances and the disregard the companies have for communities. Also the laughable enforcement and regulation by the EPA. How many more tragedies like this or the train derailments of toxic chemicals need to happen?
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