The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 77/No. 45      December 16, 2013

 
Workers protest oil waste
in Chicago neighborhood
 
BY BETSY FARLEY  
CHICAGO — Mountainous black piles of oil refinery waste are growing along the Calumet River in the working-class neighborhoods of the Southeast Side here, where residents have been reporting increased incidents of asthma and other respiratory problems. On any windy day the hazardous material billows in clouds, covering houses in black dust.

“In the summer it covered our windows, got in our food, and even covered the kids’ swimming pool in the yard,” said Lilia Barboza, who lives on South Mackinaw Avenue.

The waste material, called petroleum coke or petcoke, is a high-carbon, high-sulfur powdery byproduct produced by the BP refinery in Whiting, Ind. Regulations demand the piles be covered there, but there are no laws governing storage once it is transported to facilities here. The production of petcoke, which is sold mostly overseas as cheap fuel, is slated to triple next year from 700,000 tons to 2.2 million tons after a $4.2 billion upgrade is completed at the refinery.

Workers who live in the area have organized community meetings demanding the stockpiles be covered or moved. Hundreds protested Nov. 21 at a meeting convened by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

“My wife and daughter both got asthma,” said 28-year-old construction worker Santos Cabrera, who grew up on 108th Street, two blocks from the terminals owned by Beemsterboer Slag Corp. and KCBX Terminals. Cabrera joined a protest of about 45 people Sunday morning Nov. 24 in front of the KCBX terminal. “They need to get these piles out of here. Our children’s health should come first,” he said.

“We are concerned for our neighborhood, the kids have asthma and there are other health problems,” Tom Roche told the Militant at a Nov. 21 community organizing meeting of some 150 people at Jane Addams Elementary School. Roche, a worker at the nearby Ford stamping plant, came to the meeting with his wife Pat and their three kids, who all live three blocks from the petcoke mounds.

“We are like an abandoned area in Chicago,” said retired retail worker Teresa Sobieski. “They don’t care about the workers who live here.”

On Nov. 4, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit against KCBX for alleged air pollution caused by petcoke and coal along the Calumet River. On Nov. 19, the Illinois EPA an-nounced it will not approve a construction permit for KCBX Terminals, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the city is discussing regulations that would require the terminals to cover the piles or surround them with high walls.  
 
 
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