EPA escalates hunt for heavy metals on Chicago's South Side

摘要

EPA said it is ramping up its investigation into manganese contamination in a low-income neighborhood on the Southeast Side of Chicago. The agency said it would seek permission from homeowners to test more yards for the potent neurotoxin after a Chicago Department of Public Health contractor discovered that most of the 27 yards it tested in the neighborhood exceeded the state standard. The probe is one of three the agency is conducting in the heavily industrialized area, including two just across the border in Indiana. In Chicago, maps of the testing show that the most heavily polluted yards are near an S.H. Bell Co. storage terminal on the Calumet River. EPA and the city are also investigating three other facilities on the riverfront. Officials discovered S.H. Bell's manganese contamination accidentally a few years ago, as they were looking into petroleum coke storage piles on the river, which have since been removed.