CITY COU NCIL COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS CITY OF CHICAGO BUDGET AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COUNCIL CHAMBER HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION CITY HALL ROOM 200 1 21 NORTH LASALLE STREET PEDESTHIAN AND TRAFFIC SAFETY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60602 TELEPHONE: 31 2?744?6836 FAX: 773-270-4673 SPECIAL EVENTS, CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND RECREATION HUMAN RELATIONS RULES AND BRIAN HOPKINS ALDERMAN, 2ND WARD 1400 N. ASHLAND AVE. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60622 TELEPHONE 312?643-2299 FAX: 773-270-4873 August 21, 2017 Dr. Julie Morita 333 S. State Chicago, IL 60604 Dear Dr. Morita: On Friday, August 18, 2017 at approximately 10:35 AM, my office received reports of excessive smoke and dust emanating from General Iron Industries at 1909 Clifton. We informed your office, photographs ofa large smoke plume were immediately sent to your office via email, and understand field inspectors were dispatched to that location in response. ,lncidents of this type are common occurrences at the facility. Excessive smoke and dust, along with tremors and vibrations from explosions, are regularly observed and reported to my office by nearby residents. Furthermore, ongoing air quality monitoring has detected levels of fugitive dust and airborne toxics known to be associated with high volume metal shredding. An increasing body of evidence suggests that the continued operation of this facility in a densely populated residential area represents a threat to public health. I request the following steps be taken: 1. A review ofthe available air quality data (including reports from both public and private agencies) regarding emissions and fugitive dust to provide a baseline for near term comparison. 2. Implementation of an ongoing air quality monitoring program by your department, modeled after a monitoring program currently active in the 10th Ward. 3. An immediate revocation ofthe special extended operating hours granted to General Iron Industries as a privilege by your office. 4. A summary of the field inspections conducted by your office during the previous 12 month period, with a listing ofall violations and the status of remedies, ifany. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter of public safety. Sincerely, Alderman Brian Hopkins? cc: The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Mayor The Honorable George Cardenas, Chairman, Committee on Health and Environmental Protection Neighborhood PM2.5 Sampling Results and Analysis October-November, 2016 Serap Erdal, Victoria Persky, M.D.2 Frank Pagone, University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health 1Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences 2Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Location 1765 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL 60642 Location 0 1363 W. Cortland St., Chicago, IL 60614 I 3. I . i Location 1930 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago, 60614 Map of Neighborhood Sampling Sites r- Sam?g'er MTo?catlon ?the, the _G?neral Iron FaciI high?ghted 1253 {9516; 21mg?? Geogle?i??af?t I. EPA and Neighborhood Site Locations . . Lu 1ft? {ann- - D: i 63;. Ch it. - (Q. 13.: . m1- -r prm? .. . mm: 1651 sings .. urn-? a 1 TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF AVERAGE PM2.5 CONCENTRATIONS MEASURED AT THREE NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATIONS AND COMPARISON OF NEIGHBORHOOD PM2.5 CONCENTRATION DATA TO THOSE MEASURED BY THE EPA AT TWO CLOSEST AIR MONITORING LOCATIONS Change in 24-) ?15 Change in Measured 24-h Average Average Average PM2.5 PM2.5 Conc. At Measured 24-h PM2.S Conc. at Measured 24-h Measured 24-h 9?5 Change in 93 Change in FRM Conc. at Station as )Average PM2.5 Station as Average PM2.5 Measured 24-h Average PM2.5 Measured 24-h Measured 24-h EPA's compared to IFHM Conc. at Compared to tone. at Average PM2.5 Cont. At Average PM2.5 Average PM2.5 Springfield that at the Mayfair that at the Sampling Station lConc. at Station Station 0 Conc. at Station Cans. at Station Pump Station Spring?eld ?Pump Station EPA's Mayfair Date (11g! (pgjm3) 115. Station vs. Station 0 (Asim?) Pump Station (11g)r m3) Pump Station 1019115 12.7 8.8 9.9 44.9 23.3 9.0 41) 8.6 48 10112115 14.1 14.1 15.4 0.4 -7.9 11.3 25 10115115 10.0 10.5 10.5 -54 -5.4 9.3 7 10.1 -1 10115115 14.3 12.1 12.9 18.3 11.2 9.1 57 10121115 4.7 3.5 3.5 35.0 32.3 3.8 23 AN AN 10124115 5.9 4.9 3.4 21.1 74.2 AN AN 10127115 7.5 5.5 5.8 33.9 30.3 3.7 103 4.1 33' i 10130116 2.6 2.0 2.2 29.1 17.3 2.2 18 1112115 19.9 18.8 19.0 5.8 4.9 19.9 0 17.9 11 11/5l15 14.9 13.2 13.1 13.6 14.3 11.5 305 Notes: 1) indicates not available data from the EPA PM2.5 FRM monitor due to instrument malfunction. 2) All the positive numbers in change columns indicate an increase in PM2.S concentration at station as compared to the other stations. 3) All the negative numbers (shown in red - in four instances) in change columns indicate a decrease in PM2.5 concentration at station as compared to the other stations. 4) Neighborhood air monitoring site, L, is closest to the General Iron facility. Station is approximately 650 feet east of the facility. 5) In the above table, percent change calculations were performed for the closest site to the facility, Station L, in comparison to a) the other neighborhood stations (yellow and green highlighted columns) and b) EPA stations (blue and orange highlighted columns). 6) Springfield Pump Station site is the closest EPA air monitoring station to the General Iron facility and the three neighborhood air monitoring stations (L, and 0). EPA performs air monitoring at this station on once?every?six day schedule. We also examined the data collected at EPA's Mayfair Pump Station air monitoring site because the PM2.5 sampling at this site is performed on more frequent basis, once in every three days. 7) Sampling dates are as follows: 10/9/16 Sunday; 10/12/16 Wednesday; 10/15/16 Saturday; 10/18/16 Tuesday; 10/21/16 Friday; 10/24/16 Monday; 10/27/16 ?Thursday; 10/30/16 Sunday; 11/2/15 Wednesday; 11/5/16 Saturday. 8) The 24-hour Average National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5 is 35 ug/m3. 9) Frank Pagone, a doctoral student of Prof. Erdal, performed the air sampling at the three neighborhood sites with guidance and supervision from Dr. Erdal.