Sierra Club Presentation – LaSalle City Hall Meeting – March 6, 2023 Full Audio & Slideshow

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley
    sierra-club-city-of-lasalle-march-6-2023-mtg-presentationDownload
    sc-carus-fact-sheet-march-2023Download

    LS Council gets tough analysis of Carus fire Monday night

    by: John Small, Starved Rock Media, March 7, 2023

    LaSalle City Council got grim numbers about the Carus Chemical fire Monday night. At Mayor Jeff Grove’s invitation, the Sierra Club‘s MIla Kellen Marshall P.hD and Denise Trabbic-Pointer spoke to the Council about testing done immediately after the January 11th fire. Speaking by phone from Michigan, Trabbic-Pointer said particulate matter was sampled for about 19 hours after the blaze.

    This dust is so fine, she said, it gets into the deepest parts of the lungs. More troubling said Trabbic-Pointer, were results showing levels 12 points above the 24-hour regulatory limit. Later, an examination of eight furnace filters taken from affected homes showed the presence of the metals Barium, Copper, Lead, Manganese and Zinc. Alderman Jim Bacidore asked Trabbic-Pointer is it safe outside for kids and pets:

    For almost two hours, residents whose property took the brunt of the chemical laden smoke, took more shots at Carus and sometimes the city. The question of legal action against Carus was discussed. City Attorney Jim McPhedran said it’s something that’s costly and a deeply involved process. Carus Chemical officials continue to duck City Council meetings.

    Photo Credit: Jamie Hicks
    Photo Credit: Katie Dumke Troccoli

    EPA Test Results & Sierra Club analysis of chemical samples taken 1/12/23 following the Carus Chemical explosion & fire

    Carus Chemical results 1Download
    Carus Chemical results 2Download
    2023-01-11 W0990300006 Laboratory ResultsDownload
    2023-01-12 W0990300006 Laboratory Results_RedactedDownload
    23A0170 Carus FINAL 01 30 23 1433Download
    Environmental Summary Report 2-7-2023Download
    23A0170 FINAL EXCEL 30 Jan 23 1433Download

    Careless Carus Chemical had another Spill

    Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

      March 6, 2023

      Less than eight weeks after the Carus Chemical fire and chemical plant explosion in LaSalle, Illinois, Carus had another chemical spill.

      The purple chemical on the road, near the end of the video, is one of several chemicals that fell onto peoples’ homes, cars, and yards in January from a chemical cloud that formed during the explosion and fire at Carus.

      This same purple chemicals is being released by the factory in LaSalle into the Little Vermilion River. The Little Vermillion empties into the Illinois River.

      Carus also owns a landfill along the Illinois River, which is believed to be leaching toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the river.

      The Illinois River empties into the Mississippi River, then into Gulf of Mexico, where there is a 6,334 square mile dead zone. NOAA: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/deadzonegulf-2021/welcome.html?fbclid=IwAR0_i58Gde813KEsDG2DSrdMxmWv3qwp_IGbDMl8WKUqz3f-rxIBb-FDTMI#:~:text=The%202021%20Gulf%20of%20Mexico,over%20the%20past%20five%20years

      Farmers have been blamed for the Gulf dead zone.

      How much do Carus Chemical and other polluters contribute to this dead zone?

      Carus is one of many polluters, which include manufacturers and mining companies that release toxic waste into the Illinois River near La Salle, Illinois.

      The building in the video that resembles the Adams’ Family home is the Hegeler Carus Mansion, built in 1876 and considered “one of the Midwest’s great Second Empire structures,” according to the website. https://lnkd.in/gqdbyHBE

      To learn more about Carus Chemical and industrial and mining pollution in the Illinois Valley. Visit our blog: https://lnkd.in/gNsx3BHq

      Photos by: Marty Schneider