CL Enterprises. the parent company of Tangled Roots and the Lone Buffalo, is owned by Inga Carus, the CEO of Carus Chemical, LLC, in LaSalle, Illinois. https://cl-enterprises.com/who-we-are/
However, LaSalle residents say CL does not maintain their properties, and they have several unfinished projects downtown, including the historic Kaskaskia Hotel building, which they purchased from the city for $1 in 2003, and have not done anything with. The once stately hotel is deteriorating in downtown LaSalle.
In addition, Carus has not taken responsibility for damage or cleanup of residents homes and property after the Carus Chemical plant blew up on January 11 and rained chemicals onto the community.
Tangled Roots, the Lone Buffalo and CL Enterprises are just a few of many companies that are owned by Inga Carus. https://cl-red.com/projects/
LaSalle 4th Ward former alderman has produced a 3rd video with his thoughts about Carus Chemical and the City of LaSalle after the Carus Chemical explosion and chemical fire.
“My advice to the people running for office in LaSalle next month, it applies to newbies and currently sitting aldermen as well. People have taken note of who has taken up for the residents and who has not…this isn’t a topic you can sit out because it isn’t going away no matter how badly Carus wants it to.” – Mark Schneider
TONIGHT!!! Town Hall Meeting 6:30p, Monday, March 6 LaSalle City Hall 745 2nd St, LaSalle, IL
Sierra Club will present filter test results and discuss health effects of the metals and chemicals found in furnace filters and EPA samples.
Sierra Club has also announced they will test more filters. Help with cost is available.
This is a community issue that involves more than just LaSalle.
Emissions from Carus’ plumes are carried by the wind throughout LaSalle, Peru and surrounding rural areas. Chemicals from the explosion also landed on homes in Dimmick.
Chemicals manufactured at Carus are now being stored at the former South Towne Mall in Ottawa, and the waste from their plant is being taken to a landfill in Ottawa, which we believe is leaching toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the Illinois River.
The chemicals and metals the Sierra Club will discuss, and were present in the filters, are recorded in EPA reports as emissions coming from Carus’ plumes.
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, Illinois.
Residents who live closest to the chemical plant had the most fallout.
Emails obtained through FOIA revealed that Carus Chemical instructed the City how to handle the situation and when to inform residents as the events unfolded that day.
Residents were not made aware of the situation until approximately 45 minutes after the explosion of chemicals and the fire broke out.
They were told to shelter in place and not evacuate the area as toxic smoke filled the air.
Despite having a chemical plant next to a residential neighborhood, there was not a hazmat plan in place.
Brownfield, the company the City of LaSalle hired to perform tests to determine cleanup efforts, did not test for the full spectrum of chemicals and metals and released only partial results at the LaSalle city council meeting last Monday, February 6, 2023.
Thankfully, one LaSalle resident, Jamie Hicks, who lives in the neighborhood hit hardest, was not accepting their explanations or results.
EPA test results obtained through FOIA reveled much more than what the City of LaSalle and Carus Chemical released.
Below is a list of chemicals and heavy metals found in samples taken by the EPA that were tested and had levels beyond what the EPA considers acceptable.
These chemicals and metals are in peoples’ yards, where their pets and children play, on their homes, decks, and in their pools and garden beds.
Some residents were outside when the cloud of toxins passed over.
As chemicals and ash rained down from the sky, their bodies were covered in it.
The Sierra Club has been incredibly helpful with helping us understand what this means.
Below is an article published by Sonya Lunder, Senior Toxic Policy Advisor, and Hannah Lee Flath at the Sierra club.
THANK YOU, Sierra Club for your support and knowledge.
Read: Toxic Ash Is Raining Down in Illinois. It’s Time for the EPA to Step Up: The nation’s environmental watchdog needs to enact the strongest possible protections for workers and fenceline communities. By Hannah Lee Flath and Sonya Lunder at the Sierra Club:
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 lawn getting mowed at the mall near his home.
Nobody came to ask questions about safety precautions, hazmat plans, or anything else about the proposal to store Carus’ chemicals at the Ottawa South Towne Mall.
Fast forward to January 11, 2023 when an explosion occurred at Carus Chemical’s manufacturing plant in LaSalle, Illinois, that caused chemicals to rain down on the neighborhood and a massive fire to break out and release plumes of toxic smoke into the air.
The chemical, potassium permanganate, that blew up all over the LaSalle neighborhood is the same chemical that was approved for storage at the mall by Ottawa City Council, and is now being stored there.
Potassium permanganate is almost always presented by Shaw News, local politicians and Carus chemical as being for water treatment.
This makes it sound benign, like Carus is making these chemicals so we can have safe drinking water, as if they’re some kind of hero.
This is a hazardous, dangerous chemical that was approved for storage near a residential neighborhood and senior apartment complex in Ottawa, Illinois.
Last week, a neighbor next to Carus photographed and filmed semis hauling 7 loads of chemicals out of their warehouse in LaSalle, and followed them to the South Towne Mall, where they unloaded barrels and pallets for storage.
How will the City of Ottawa handle a situation like what happened in LaSalle when this same chemical started on fire and exploded?
As Jamie Hick’s said, “You’ve got our bomb now, Ottawa.”
Ordinance for Ottawa Chemical Storage at South Towne Mall:
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 barrels and pallets out of the Apollo warehouse building, and transporting them to a tier 2 chemical storage facility, formerly known as the the Ottawa South Towne Mall, as can be seen in this video. https://www.facebook.com/jamie.hicks.547/videos/1802914950093166
Carus did not expect for neighbors to be so upset after their chemical plant blew up, and rained chemicals on the neighborhood, that the neighbors would learn how to use FOIA to gather evidence, then follow and photograph Carus’ every move.
Watching Carus scramble in attempt to hide these chemicals and move them out of the building where they are being illegally stored has been somewhat amusing.
Unfortunately, the City of LaSalle is helping Carus in their cover-up, as they provided a police escort for Carus’ semis to haul the illegally stored chemicals to a proper facility before the EPA came to inspect.
In addition, the semis did not have hazmat placards on them.
Emails obtained through FOIA have revealed that Carus contacted the chief of police and asked for off-the-clock officers to provide private security 24/7 for the next few weeks.
The chief responded by saying he will check with the officers and put together a schedule.
Who will these officers be loyal to in light of illegal activity – citizens or the polluter that is paying them?
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 following are brief descriptions of the hazards of each of these metals. Keep in mind that the described health impacts are based on chronic exposures that are above the listed screening levels and do not describe the effect of a single acute exposure.
Manganese: Manganese in water poses minimal hazards, however, manganese is soil or dust does pose a significant hazard, especially through inhalation. Manganese toxicity can result in a permanent neurological disorder known as manganism with symptoms that include tremors, difficulty walking, and facial muscle spasms. These symptoms are often preceded by other lesser symptoms, including irritability, aggressiveness, and hallucinations. The average manganese soil concentrations in the United States is 40–900 mg/kg. Source: ATSDR – CDC. The maximum manganese level in this one soil sample was 293,000 mg/Kg. The screening level for a child that is listed is primarily based on ingestion of Manganese. The inhalation screening level for a child is 7,100 mg/Kg.
Thallium: Thallium blood concentration levels are normal below 2 µg/L, and toxic at concentrations greater than 200 µg/L. DELAYED EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE: Long-term effects of thallium exposure can include difficulty walking, various involuntary movement disorders, and impairment of thought and mood. Source: NIOSH – CDC High concentration of thallium in shallow soil also poses a notable threat due to possible uptake by plant roots and storage in plant biomass. As a result, thallium may enter the food chain and accumulate in living organisms, causing severe disorders and ultimately becoming fatal. Source: National Library of Medicine. The screening level for a child that is listed is primarily based on ingestion of Thallium.
Selenium: Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral required for good health. It is obtained from food, and the recommended dietary allowance is 55 μg/d for persons 14 years or older, with a tolerable upper intake limit of 400 μg/d. Selenium toxicity can occur with acute or chronic ingestion of excess selenium. Symptoms of selenium toxicity include nausea; vomiting; nail discoloration, brittleness, and loss; hair loss; fatigue; irritability; and foul breath odor (often described as “garlic breath”). Source: National Library of Medicine. The screening level for a child that is listed is primarily based on ingestion of Selenium.
Cadmium: Cadmium (Cd) is a post-transition metal that has been found to exhibit biological toxicity that is “teratogenic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic.” It is easily absorbed by crops, causes harm to crop growth and development, affects crop quality and yield, and, as part of the food chain, leads to damage to the lungs, liver, kidneys, bones, and reproductive organs, causes toxic effects to the immune and cardiovascular systems, and is associated with various diseases. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), lists Cd as the sixth most toxic substance that endangers human health. Source: National Library of Medicine. The screening level for a child that is listed is primarily based on ingestion of Cadmium.
Cobalt: Cobalt is a natural element found throughout the environment. Acute (short-term) exposure to high levels of cobalt by inhalation in humans and animals results in respiratory effects, such as a significant decrease in ventilatory function, congestion, edema, and hemorrhage of the lung. Respiratory effects are also the major effects noted from chronic (long-term) exposure to cobalt by inhalation, with respiratory irritation, wheezing, asthma, pneumonia, and fibrosis noted. Cardiac effects, congestion of the liver, kidneys, and conjunctiva, and immunological effects have also been noted in chronically-exposed humans. Cobalt is an essential element in humans, as a constituent of vitamin B12. Human studies are inconclusive regarding inhalation exposure to cobalt and cancer. EPA has not classified cobalt for carcinogenicity. Source: US EPA. The screening level for a child that is listed is primarily based on ingestion of Cobalt.
Potassium: Note that there is no EPA RSL or SL for Potassium but the maximum level in the soil sample was 71,600 mg/Kg (ppm). Potassium is a major plant nutrient. Healthy levels of potassium in soil range from 40 to 80 ppm. There are no severe health impacts related to ingestion or exposure to potassium. However, your total intake of potassium should not be greater than the recommended amounts, unless ordered by your doctor. In some cases, too much potassium may cause muscle weakness, confusion, irregular heartbeat, or difficult breathing. Source: Mayo Clinic
I don’t know what criteria that Brownfield, the City or EPA will use as comparison of the results. That is why I used listed Generic Regional Screening Levels. Besides comparing each result to some criteria, Cumulative Impacts are something that needs to be considered by the responsible parties. Many of the symptoms of over-exposure to these metals are common and result in similar endpoints and so, in a cumulative or additive manner, can be more harmful in combination.
Protect Starved Rock and The Illinois Valley 