Early last week, members of PERRO were pleased to hear that Alderman Daniel Solis had pulled his support for a proposal to build a heliport at Halsted and 24^th Street.  PERRO had raised concerns that the heliport had received no community review process and could bring noise and air pollution to the Pilsen community.  On Tuesday, February 18th we found out that the Alderman had issued a letter to Chicago Plan Commission pulling his initial support for the project because of the fact that community had not been consulted.  A planned hearing for the project at the Plan Commission last Thursday, February 20th was subsequently postponed.

However, PERRO was upset to discover Friday that despite previous claims that he had yet to make up his mind on the Pure Metals proposal to build a metal recycling facility across the street from Juarez High School, he is clearly in support of this dangerous project.  Below is a photo of the letter that was delivered by the Alderman’s staff to the City Council at the Zoning Board Hearing on Friday, February 21st expressing his support for Pure Metals.

This is an insult to the dozens of community members who turned out last Friday to express their opposition to the Pure Metals proposal and who waited as long as 10 hours to testify.  The City Council chamber was filled with opponents who numbered so many that in the end they were not all able to testify.  We are very disappointed in the Alderman’s decision on this dangerous new polluter and will continue to work on preventing the project from moving forward.  Stay posted for future developments.

There are fires at metal shredding facilities around the country at a rate of at least one a month.  Here is another example of the dangers of this industry…

EPA cracks down on Redwood City company polluting San Francisco Bay

Click photo to enlarge

Ships bound for the Far East load scrap metal at Sims Metal… (US Environmental Protection Agency)

A Bay Area metals recycling company that drew widespread attention — and a fine — for a fire that sent a huge plume of black, acrid smoke into the air over Silicon Valley five years ago is facing new pollution charges from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA said Monday that it has issued a notice of violation to Sims Metal Management, located at the Port of Redwood City, for polluting San Francisco Bay with lead, mercury, PCBs, copper and zinc. Under the Clean Water Act, Sims could face fines up to $37,500 a day unless it cleans up.

At its 13-acre bay front site in Redwood City, Sims shreds roughly 300,000 automobiles a year, along with appliances and other metal products, and loads the materials via huge conveyor belts onto ships bound for China, Korea and other countries, where they are made into new products.

During inspections last March and in August, EPA officials found high levels of toxic pollutants believed to come from the shredded metal products in the soils and sediment where the facility meets Redwood Creek, a wide body of water that flows into San Francisco Bay. Mercury levels were 110 times the federal government’s protective levels; lead was five times over the levels and copper was 86 times. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, a carcinogenic chemical banned in 1979 and commonly found in older cars and industrial equipment, were found to be at levels 10,000 times the federal government’s acceptable levels for soil.

Federal officials said the pollution at such levels poses a risk to fish, birds and other species in San Francisco Bay.

“The bay has been subjected to a history of pollution, and we are doing our best to clean it up,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s regional administrator in San Francisco. Continue reading →