City rejects company’s plan to control manganese dust
The Chicago Department of Public Health moved Friday to protect a Southeast Side neighborhood that’s been a dumping ground for decades — by rejecting a Pittsburgh company’s plan to control the release of potentially harmful manganese dust.
S. H. Bell Co. has installed five air monitors under pressure from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, but that’s not good enough to satisfy Health Commissioner Dr. Julie-Morita.
In a letter sent Friday, Morita outlined specific defects in the company’s dust control plan and gave S. H. Bell 30 days to correct them or risk hefty fines.
To the extent that materials containing manganese are stored outdoors, Morita demanded that S. H. Bell “analyze the feasibility of storing all such material inside fully enclosed buildings.”
The city further demanded that the company explore possibly “installing a fourth wall to its existing three- walled storage structures”; tarp all trucks used to transport materials on site; provide “more robust controls to ensure dust in the buildings does not escape,” and make certain that dust is “not dispersed during barge and rail unloading.”
“Manganese is an essential element. Everybody needs to have a little bit of manganese. … But it’s when we get to these higher levels that we get concerned. Too much manganese can lead to problems with how you function neurologically. It can lead to motor dysfunction,” Morita told the Chicago Sun- Times.
The city’s hard- line stance is critical at a time when President Donald Trump is in the process of shrinking the EPA, the commissioner said.
“We can’t be healthy if our environment is not clean. … We are not counting on the federal government to do that. We are taking this into our own hands. … It is critically important for cities like us to do this,” Morita said.
Kim Walberg, an attorney representing S. H. Bell, refused to commenton the city’s demands. Alyssa Pistininzi, assistant to the president of S. H. Bell, acknowledged that the Health Department has “requested modifications” to the company’s “existing fugitive dust plan.”