By: Karry King
LA SALLE, IL – Potassium permanganate is used to purify water and air, but people who live near the plant where the chemical is manufactured in LaSalle, Illinois, say that it has contaminated the air, soil and water in their community.
Carus LLC manufactures potassium permanganate and sodium permanganate, chemicals that are used by municipalities throughout the world to treat water. Over 50 percent of the domestic water that’s consumed in the United States is treated with potassium or sodium permanganate, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Potassium permanganate is also used in mining, fracking, refining crude oil and is a necessary ingredient in cocaine production. EPA documents confirmed that Carus is the only manufacturer of potassium permanganate in the western hemisphere.
In January 2023, a massive fire broke out at Carus’ LaSalle manufacturing plant that caused chemicals to rain onto the community and toxic smoke to fill the air. Since then, residents have been digging into Carus’ EPA records and learned that heavy metals and other toxins have been being emitted into the community for decades.
Community members worked with the Sierra Club to test 17 furnace filters taken from their homes after the fire. Test results revealed lead, mercury, barium, copper, zinc and manganese were present in the filters. Out of concern for their health, residents urged the EPA and City of La Salle to order Carus to pay for more testing and asked for ductwork inside their homes to be cleaned.
Residents brought up several health concerns at a town hall meeting Carus hosted in May. Lisa Dyas said her 14-year-old son spent 15 days in the hospital with severe pneumonia after the fire, and the fluid has barely left his lungs after four months. April Stevenson, a 40-year-old single mom, said she made two emergency room visits in one week because she couldn’t breathe when Carus resumed production after the fire. She now uses a breathing machine and is on several medications.
The U.S. EPA took air samples using mobile monitors set up north and south of Carus the evening of the fire. After 19 hours of ambient air testing, the EPA said they “did not detect any substances at levels of concern” and left the scene.
However, Denise Trabbic-Pointer, a Chemical Engineer and Certified Hazardous Material Manager Emeritus, who is volunteering in La Salle, said the U.S. EPA data was not continuous, and they used an OSHA standard for comparison. OSHA standards are written for workers who leave the jobsite at the end of the day, unlike La Salle residents who breathe the air 24/7. The Illinois EPA reviewed airborne particulate matter data, but that data doesn’t reflect the toxicity of airborne metals, which were found in the furnace filters.
Lead is known to damage the brain and nervous system in children. Manganese, which was also in the filters, and was found in high levels in soil that was tested, is linked to Parkinson’s disease, psychiatric impairments, decreased IQ scores, depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular and lung diseases, according to the 2023 study, Manganese Toxicity, by Evans and Masullo.
Carus did not provide a comment for this article but addressed the issue in a letter published in the News Tribune on May 7, 2023. Richard Landtiser, vice president of innovation and technology, wrote “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency took numerous soil and air tests. They concluded the environment was safe, with no hazards to public health.”
“The community is concerned that the extent of manganese in the soil and that remains in their furnace system ductwork has not been fully assessed,” said Denise Trabbic-Pointer.
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