Thomas Lewallen
April 11, 2015
EJ Waste
Cleaning Up Calumet: Environmental Contamination on Chicago’s Southeast Side
Introduction
In the early years of Chicago’s inception, the environment was ripe for the dominion of
man. The Chicago River was used to dump excrement and other solid wastes as an easy means to
remove it from the streets. Industry lined the edges of the region’s rivers, disposing of their
chemical and metal waste.
By 1900, Chicago had become the second largest city in the United States with a population of
1.6 million residents (Census, 1900). Waves of immigrants from Europe settled in the city
establishing large communities (Census, 1900). Meanwhile, African Americans and Mexicans
moved into the city on the South Side in droves, joining these immigrants in becoming the
working class of Chicago. As the population grew, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan were
becoming polluted at unfathomable rates.
Bubbly Creek, on the South Branch of the Chicago River across from Pilsen, was unable to
sustain life on account of the sheer amount of meat by-products thrown into its waters. It was not
uncommon for the river to be covered in hard brown scum, occasionally turning the color red
from slaughterhouse discharge (Annin, 2006). By 1885, the citizens of Chicago were desperate
for a way to alleviate their water pollution problems—by any means possible.
To ‘fix’ the pollution in the Chicago River, and subsequently Lake Michigan, the City of
Chicago and state officials decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River by creating a 28mile canal to the Des Plaines River that would eventually pour into the Mississippi River. This
would divert water from Lake Michigan at the impressive rate of 10,000 cubic feet per second
down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (Annin, 2006).
After the success of the reversal, it would have seemed that Chicagoans could tackle any
environmental problems that came their way with money and sheer determination. Industry took
on the personality of Chicago, dominating every corner of the region that could be of benefit.
The Calumet region twenty-two miles south of downtown proper, has been
predominantly occupied by heavily polluting businesses and industry since Chicago’s
incorporation in 1837. With Chicago being the ideal midpoint in the nation for transportation by
rail, and then by water after the reversal of the Chicago River, industry moved in (Sellers, 2006).
At one time Calumet housed one of the largest steel producing operations in the world. Being
conveniently located near transportation and water needed for manufacturing, the industry took
off.
Calumet devoted its land and residents to steel and other dirty enterprises from 1900 to the
unfortunate collapse of industry in the region during the 1980’s. For over 50 years, the Calumet
region was home to and employed mostly American southerners and European immigrants in the
steel mills and other industry (Pellow, 2004). This changed at its peak in the early 1970’s when
the United Steelworkers of America counted over 130,000 members in the union—with African
Americans and Mexicans making up the majority of employees (Pellow, 2004).
After the collapse of industry in the region during the 1980’s, what was left behind was a swath
of brownfields and toxic waste. Remnants of a once thriving industrial zone, these plots of land
are highly contaminated with everything from pesticides to heavy metals (EPA Region 5).
Is the state of the Calumet region purely an environmental concern or are there social injustices
occurring as well? In other words, are less affluent neighborhoods purposely being sought out to
house these polluting industries or has this been merely matter of happenstance? If so, how can
the city of Chicago rectify this? Maybe the better question is: does Chicago care to?
Community Profile
With currently over 77 unique Community Areas, Chicago does not lack in diversity. The
focus will be on the Calumet region. In this paper, the Calumet region consists of 15
neighborhoods of Chicago and 6 cities in Illinois and Indiana. This is due to the relatively small
square mileage of the neighborhoods and cities (130.36 sq.mi.) and proximity to one another in
the region. These neighborhoods include: Hegewisch, Riverdale, West Pullman, South Deering,
East Side, Pullman, Roseland, Calumet Heights, Burnside, South Chicago, Morgan Park,
Washington Heights, Chatham, and Avalon Park. The cities included are: Calumet City, IL;
Dalton, IL; Harvey, IL; South Holland, IL, Hammond, IN; East Chicago, IN; Whiting, IN.
Three neighborhoods have been chosen for comparison to the Calumet region: Lakeview, Little
Village, and the Near North Side. Each neighborhood has a different racial, economic,
educational, and cultural background.
100.00%
Neighborhood Race Populations
80.00%
60.00%
40.00%
20.00%
0.00%
Calumet
Lakeview
Little Village
Near North Side
African American
70.07%
4.40%
12.90%
19.10%
Latino
16.27%
8.70%
83%
3.90%
White
11.26%
79.50%
3.50%
69.20%
Other
2.40%
7.40%
0.60%
7.80%
Figure 1 Data Provided by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and The United States Census Bureau: 2010 Census.
While the Near North Side is just north across the river from the downtown core, the Calumet
region is located 16 miles south. The neighborhood Little Village is located 6 miles southwest of
downtown and has been used by multiple polluting industries in the past. Lakeview is 5 miles
north of downtown and started out as the elites’ retreat out of the city before it was incorporated
into the City of Chicago in 1889.
As seen in Figure 1, each neighborhood has a specific makeup of racial identities. Lakeview and
Near North Side are the most similar in having larger white populations. Little Village’s
predominant demographic is mainly Latino and the Calumet region’s is mainly African
American. So aside from race, what makes these neighborhoods different?
If we break them down further, we see that income and education are quite dissimilar as well. In
Figure 2 the incomes, poverty percentage, and higher education percentage can be seen.
Lakeview and Near North Side have similar numbers in regards to income, poverty, and higher
education, while Little Village and Calumet lag behind.
INCOME AND EDUCATION
Household Income (thousands)
Poverty (%)
College Education (%)
93
100
81
80
70
66.7
60
41
40
40
27
26
32.7
19.5
20
5.1
13.6
0
Calumet
Lakeview
Little Village
Near North Side
Figure 2. Data Provided by United States Census 2010.
With minorities concentrating in Little Village and the Calumet region, they are unfortunately
residing in areas once dominated by heavy polluting industry. Chicago’s environmental
inequality has been placed on poorer immigrant and African American neighborhoods as a result.
Both areas once housed the industry that supported the growth of Chicago and in some instances
still do. An attribute of this could be linked to the lower than average cost of housing in both
places because of the past industry. A person should not have to live in toxic conditions
regardless of their income or racial identity.
List and Discussion of Waste Sites
There are currently twenty-one Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites located
in Chicago (EPA Region 5). Superfund is the federal government’s program, through the EPA,
to allocate funds for the cleanup of hazardous waste locations. These toxic plots which were once
home to industry, now sit empty or among the rubble quietly contaminating the environment.
Out of the four neighborhoods, Calumet suffers the most from heavy metals and arsenic
exposure. In Figure 3, the location of the six Superfund sites located in the Calumet Region have
been provided. There are four Superfund sites in Illinois and two across the border in Indiana
(EPA Region 5). Just across the Illinois border into East Chicago, the EPA has designated the
land once occupied by the company United States Smelter and Lead as a Superfund site.
The U.S. Smelter and Lead Superfund site is a 79-acre plot of land located along the Grand
Calumet River. According to the EPA, the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery Inc. primarily
smelted copper from 1906 until 1920 when the plant was converted to smelt lead (ASTDR,
2011).
In 1973, USS Lead converted its operations to secondary smelting which involved recovering
lead from scrap metal and lead batteries. The process of smelting lead produces a slew of
pollutants and toxins into the air and surrounding areas. A byproduct of the lead smelting was
calcium sulfate sludge, flue-dust, rubber and plastic battery casing, and waste lead slag (ASTDR,
2011).
Figure 3 Google Maps Locations of Superfund Sites Provided by the EPA
According to the EPA, in 1975, USS Lead received a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permit. This gave the company permission to release furnace cooling water and storm
water runoff into the nearby waterway.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management states the permit levels were exceeded
for several materials including lead, cadmium, copper, arsenic, and zinc (ATSDR, 2011). In the
1980s, several state and federal enforcement actions were taken against the company. The USS
Lead Inc. shuttered its doors in 1985 when the Indiana State Board of Health found that it was
responsible for releasing stray lead particles downwind of the plant (Berkoff, 2014).
Upon further investigation, high levels of lead and arsenic were found in the nearby wetlands. It
has been stated by state and federal officials that over 300 public properties in the Calumet
neighborhood are contaminated with lead and arsenic—including an elementary school (Keagle,
2014). It was estimated that 53% percent of the properties in the area would require clean-up
(Berkoff, 2014).
Of the affected private yards in the direct vicinity of the USS Lead Superfund, 14 of them
required soil remediation. This is done by removing an inch of the topsoil. Homes measured
concentrations of lead within the soil from 120 mg/kg to 2,800 mg/kg (ASTDR, 2011).
According to the EPA, greater than 80 percent of affected homes had concentrations that were
harmful to human health.
Arsenic is a known carcinogen and long-term exposure can lead to skin abnormalities and
increased risk in cancer of the liver, bladder, and lungs, according to the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry. During a study in Bangladesh, the University of Chicago found
that people exposed to 19ppb of arsenic showed signs of reduced lung capacity and at 120ppb
their ability to take in oxygen resembled that of long-term smokers (Argos et.al. 2010).
The amount of arsenic on the USS Lead Superfund site is unknown, but the surrounding area of
the Greater Calumet River is. As industry of years past used the river and its associated wetlands
to dispose of their industrial waste, concentrations built up.
The Greater Calumet River sediment contains an average concentration of 55 mg/kg of arsenic
(IDEM, 2007). Fish within the river basin have also been shown to contain unhealthy levels of
arsenic. As quoted by the ATSDR in their report of the USS Lead Superfund:
All water for drinking, commercial, and industrial uses is obtained from Lake
Michigan. No private wells are in use near the site. A total of 4.1 million people
obtain drinking water from intakes primarily into Lake Michigan within 15 miles
downstream of where hazardous waste substances from the site enter into surface
water. Lake Michigan, 3 miles north of the site, is used for fishing. The Grand
Calumet River and Indiana Harbor, into which the river drains, are not fished.
Hammond Beach Marina, which is used for recreation, is 4 miles west from
where the canal enters Lake Michigan. Wabala Beach and several other major
recreation areas are within 15 miles of the site.
With residents having such a close bond with the contaminated water, how has this affected the
health of the predominantly African American Calumet region?
Cancer Rates and Lead by Neighborhood
311.2
Near North Side
142.7
605.9
Little Village
127.4
179.2
Lakeview
126.9
405.15
Calumet
216.6
0
100
200
300
Lead in Childrens Blood (Per 1,000)
400
500
600
700
Cancer Rates (Per 100,000)
Figure 4 City of Chicago Data Portal 2011
As seen in Figure 4, Calumet has the highest cancer rates of the four neighborhoods included. It
also comes in second behind Little Village with around 405 children out of 1,000 having traces
of lead in their blood. These numbers show a stark contrast between cancer rates and lead
presence in blood from previously industrial neighborhoods and those in the historically affluent.
But why are the children of Little Village affected much more so than not only Calumet, but
Near North Side and Lakeview as well?
The Environmental Protection Agency states that the operation of coal-fired power plants
produces a slew of toxic chemicals and heavy metals such as: mercury, arsenic, lead, VOCs,
chromium, as well as SO2, CO2, and small particulate matter. The coal-fired power plant, which
was closed in 2014, is located within eyesight of two public schools. It is no wonder that in 2011
when it was operational that children registered such high levels of lead.
Residents of the Calumet region have been fighting to reclaim not only their surrounding
natural beauty, but also their health. In the early 1980’s, the group People for Community
Recovery was founded to address the disrepair of the Chicago Housing Authorities development,
Altgeld Gardens’ (Johnson, 2014). Shortly after its founding, the PCR became aware of the
unusually high rates of cancer in the Calumet region. The CEO, Hazel Johnson, would lead the
fight towards rectifying the decaying industrial wasteland known as the Calumet region.
Hazel Johnson was adamant that City of Chicago health officials test the drinking water of a
nearby housing complex called Maryland Manner (Davidson, 1985). The complex was located
on the northern shore of the Little Calumet River and was supplied by well water. After testing
of the water was done in 1984, the water was shown to contain cyanide and other toxins
(Ramirez, 2011). After the report of the toxins was released, the city hastily installed water lines
connected to the main Chicago infrastructure.
Mrs. Johnson was also a large push behind President Bill Clinton’s signing of the Environmental
Justice Executive Order in 1994 (Johnson, 2014). The EJEO’s purpose is to focus federal
attention on the low-income and minority populations that are affected by environmental and
human health hazards (EPA, 1994). As a result of her determination, Hazel Johnson has been
named the ‘mother of environmental justice’.
Although she had passed away in 2011, her perseverance and legacy lives on within the region.
Around the same time Hazel Johnson founded the PCR, the Southeast Environmental Task Force
began operations in 1989. The group has been instrumental in challenging the oil industry,
mainly BP, in the removal of petcoke, or petroleum coke, in the area. Petcoke is the byproduct of
refining oil, has the consistency of coal, and is highly toxic.
Site Profile
The BP refinery located in Whiting Indiana, just across the border and included within the
Calumet region, produces millions of tons of petcoke each year. Before environmental groups in
the area voiced concerns, the state of Illinois had planned to manage almost 11 million tons of
petcoke and coal (Hawthorne, 2015). More than 2.2 million tons of would have come from the
BP refinery in Whiting (Hawthorne, 2015).
Luckily, those residing in the Calumet region’s voices were heard by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.
In 2013, Emmanuel had given the company KCBX multiple warnings that the conditions in
which petcoke was being stored in the area was irresponsible and dangerous. The hazardous
material was being left out in the open, adjacent to the Calumet River—which empties into
nearby Lake Michigan. Residents in the area complained of giant petcoke clouds of dust that
would fly into the air, alarmed at the possible health risks (EPA, 2013).
In response to the nearby resident’s outcries, KCBX installed sprinkler systems seen in Figure 4
to constantly douse the piles of petcoke, sometimes reaching 60 feet high, so that dust could not
fly away (Hawthorne, 2015).
4 Picture of Water Sprinklers Dousing Petcoke Piles. Courtesy of E. Jason Wambsans / Chicago Tribune
After failure to adequately store and contain petcoke, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel demanded KCBX
halt all storage of petcoke within the city limits of Chicago (Hawthorne, 2013). Without the
constant fighting of the region’s residents, the storage of the hazardous material could have once
again brought new sources of environmental and human health ills.
The Calumet region has arguably suffered more from industrial pollution than any other
region or neighborhood in the Chicago area. After housing the steel industry for nearly a century,
various other refineries and smelters, and more recently petroleum byproducts, it’s time for a
change.
Conclusion
As the world becomes smaller, figuratively through technology and literally due to an ever
growing population, environmental injustices will soon be near impossible to conceal. Residents
of cities, states, and countries around the world are equipped with more information than ever on
the consequences of housing polluting industries within their neighborhoods.
Greater awareness will, and is, forcing governments and corporations alike to not only take into
consideration the monetary benefits of industry, but also the negative human health effects. As
we move into the 21st century, climate change is becoming an even stronger threat. If we as a
society can simultaneously push for greater corporate responsibility and mitigate their CO2
emissions, why not include the elimination of toxic wastes in this framework? There is no better
time to stop the endangerment of people and the environment than now.
For decades, arguably since the Love Canal disaster in Niagara Falls, people have voiced the
acronym NIMBY, Not In My Back Yard. This acronym will no longer be relevant as everyone
adopts a more suitable acronym for the 21st century: NIABY or Not In Anyone’s Back Yard.
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