Part I: Introduction
The list below details the names, functions, and
locations of twenty-six companies which are polluting Lake County, Illinois; or
which have polluted it over the last twenty years.
[Author's Notes, added on February 16th, 2024:
1. Three of these locations are outside of Lake
County, but may be affecting Lake County; for example, Location #11 emitted
pollutants into water in Wisconsin, which traveled to Lake County, Illinois,
because these areas lie within the same watershed.
2. The
numbers, and ordering, of the locations on this list, have changed since the
list's initial publication.]
I hope
to expand this list, and turn it into a map, in order to achieve the goals I
outlined in the first of my eleven proposals to counteract the harmful effects
of the toxic chemical EtO (ethylene oxide).
Those proposals are listed in the
link below:
http://aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2020/09/response-to-stop-eto-lake-county-about.html
Part II: Contents, and Basic List
1-14. Miscellaneous Sites
1. NRG Waukegan Generating Station (Waukegan) (coal ash)
2. Medline (Waukegan, Mundelein, Libertyville, Grayslake) (EtO)
3. Abbott (Waukegan, Gurnee, North Chicago, Lake Bluff, Green Oaks) (sewage,
toxic emissions from laboratories, volatile organic material from
combined-fluid bed dryers and tunnel dryers)
4. AbbVie (North Chicago) (sewage, toxic emissions from laboratories, volatile
organic material from combined-fluid bed dryers and tunnel dryers)
5. Baxter (Round Lake, Deerfield, Lake Zurich) (treated wastewater, suspended
solids, oxygen-depleting contaminants)
6. Anhydrous ammonia gas explosion (Beach Park) (anhydrous ammonia gas)
7. AB Specialty Silicones plant explosion (Waukegan) (silicone)
8. Sterigenics (Willowbrook, Gurnee) (EtO)
9. Vantage Specialty Chemicals (Gurnee) (EtO)
10. Grayslake Countryside Landfill (Grayslake) (waste leaked from landfill into
groundwater)
11. FoxConn (Mt. Pleasant and Sturtevant, Wisconsin) (pollutants from making
liquid crystal display panels)
12. North Shore Gas – North Plant (Waukegan) (Dense non-aqueous phase liquid
[D.N.A.P.L.], metals, volatile compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
13. North Shore Gas – South Plant (town unclear; Waukegan, Libertyville,
Mundelein, &/or Buffalo Grove?) (Dense non-aqueous phase liquid
[D.N.A.P.L.], metals, volatile compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
14. AzkoNobel Aerospace Coatings (Waukegan) (manganese)
15. Procter & Gamble (North Chicago) (oil,
oily substances, and/or detergents containing phosphates)
16-19. Four Companies Which Possess Facilities Engaged in Rock Crushing
16. Reliable Concrete Pumping (Libertyville) (rock crushing)
17. Ozinga concrete company (Waukegan) (rock crushing)
18. EMCO (North Chicago) (rock crushing)
19-23. Five E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) SuperFund Sites
19. Johns-Manville Corporation (Waukegan) (asbestos)
20. Yeoman Creek Landfill (Waukegan) (leachate)
21. H.O.D. Landfill (Antioch) (vinyl chloride)
22. Outboard Marine Corporation (Waukegan) (hydraulic fluids with P.C.B.)
23. Petersen Sand & Gravel / Petersen Excavating, Inc. (Gurnee) (paint
waste and solvents)
24-26. Three Sites Containing Nuclear Materials (One Inside Lake County, Two
Outside)
24. Zion Nuclear Generating Station (Zion) (nuclear materials)
25. Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont) (nuclear materials)
26. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Batavia) (nuclear materials)
Part III: The List (in Detail)
1-14. Miscellaneous Sites
1. NRG Waukegan Generating
Station (coal burning power plant; may be emitting C.C.R.s [Coal Combustion
Residuals] including boron, chromium, thallium, lead, and/or arsenic, polluting
a grassy area located on plant grounds), 401 E. Greenwood Ave., Waukegan
(Sunset / Greenwood & Sheridan).
Midwest Generation, L.L.C. Waukegan generating station was purchased by NRG
Energy. Was sued by the Sierra Club.
2. Medline. Emits cancerous and explosive ethylene oxide ("EtO") from its smokestacks.
Medline Locations in Lake County:
- Medline, Inc.: 1710 S. Lake Side Drive, Waukegan
- Medline Industries, Inc.: 1160 S. Northpoint Blvd., Waukegan
- Medline / Dynacorp: 1 Medline Place, Mundelein
- Medline Industries, L.L.P.: 1910 Innovation Way, Libertyville
- Medline, 2200 Cornerstone Parkway, Grayslake
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-lake-county-cancer-risks-pollution-20181028-story.html
http://theintercept.com/2019/05/07/medline-wendy-abrams-air-pollution/
Congressman Brad Schneider (D, IL-10) accepted $7,736 from Medline during the 2017-18 campaign season.
[Source: http://www.opensecrets.org]
3. Abbott (sixteen locations, including one large cluster where Lake Bluff and
North Chicago meet Green Oaks; aside from subsidiaries). Abbott has gotten in trouble for violating environmental laws several times in the past, including 1996, 2001, and 2005. Abbott has dumped sewage into Lake Michigan, and polluted the air with toxic emissions from its laboratories. Its Libertyville facility emitted "emissions of volatile organic material ... from its combined fluid bed dryers and tunnel dryers", and filed a proposal for site-specific rulemaking pursuant to Section 28 of the Environmental Protection Act regarding those emissions, in 2007.
[Note: Abbott separated into Abbott and AbbVie between 2011 and 2013. These companies have hundreds of subsidiaries.]
Abbott Locations in Lake County:
- Abbott: 100 Abbott Park Rd., Abbott Park
- Abbott: 3629 Bur Wood Drive, Waukegan
- Abbott: 605 Tri-State Parkway, Gurnee
- Abbott Gate 2: 3158 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, North Chicago
- Abbott Building AP06C: 100 Abbott Park Rd., Lake Bluff
- Abbott Building AP06D: Abbott Park Rd., Green Oaks
- Abbott Building AP14: 100 Abbott Park Rd., Lake Bluff
- Abbott Laboratories Building J46: 1850 Norman Drive, Waukegan
- Abbott Laboratories: 175 Tri-State Parkway, Gurnee
- Abbott Laboratories – Sun Eugene, M.D.: 100 Abbott Park Rd., Lake Bluff
- Abbott Park East: 1 North Waukegan Rd., North Chicago
- Abbott Park East Gate 7: 3601 Buckley Rd., Waukegan
- Abbott Park Gate 2: 1284 N. Waukegan Rd., Lake Bluff
- Abbott Park 3: Buckley Rd., Abbott Park
- Abbott Park – Green Oaks, IL (no address given)
- Abbott / AbbVie Visitors’ Center – AB12: Green Oaks
Location in Question:
- Libertyville Township (location unclear)
http://pcb.illinois.gov/documents/dsweb/GetRendition/Document-62238/html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-01-07-9001020483-story.html
Congressman Brad Schneider (D, IL-10) accepted $19,105 from Abbott between 2011 and 2020, and $46,860 from Abbott and AbbVie combined between 2011 and 2020. This includes $10,741 in 2017-18, and $8,364 in 2019-20.
[Source: http://www.opensecrets.org]
4. Abbvie (at least four locations; aside from subsidiaries).
[Note: Abbott separated into Abbott and AbbVie between 2011 and 2013. These companies have hundreds of subsidiaries.]
AbbVie Locations in Lake County:
- AbbVie M4 Receiving Building (possibly closed): 1400 Sheridan Rd., North
Chicago
- AbbVie, Inc.: 1400 Sheridan Rd., North Chicago
- AbbVie Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing: 1401 Sheridan Rd., North
Chicago
- AbbVie North Chicago Visitor Parking: North Chicago (no specific address)
Congressman Brad Schneider (D, IL-10) accepted $27,755 from AbbVie between 2011 and 2020, and $46,860 from Abbott and AbbVie combined between 2011 and 2020. This includes $10,250 in 2013-14, $12,575 in 2017-18, and $4,530 in 2019-20.
5. Baxter (4 or 5 locations). Dumped treated wastewater into a tributary
flowing into Long Lake, near Round Lake, Illinois. Baxter exceeded limits on
suspended solids, and oxygen-depleting contaminants. It has violated
anti-pollution laws several times since 2016.
Baxter Locations:
- Baxter Corporate Office: 1 Baxter Parkway, Deerfield
- Baxter Healthcare: 1300 Berkley Rd., Lake Zurich
- Baxter Human Resources: 25212 IL-120, Round Lake
- Baxter – Round Lake WG: Round Lake
incl. Long Lake / Round Lake:
http://patch.com/illinois/grayslake/settlement-reached-long-lake-pollution-lawsuit
http://patch.com/illinois/deerfield/baxter-will-stop-dumping-water-long-lake-ceo-says
http://www.mddionline.com/business/illinois-sues-baxter-lake-pollution
http://www.dailyherald.com/business/20181126/baxter-to-pay-95000-for-polluting-long-lake
Congressman Brad Schneider (D, IL-10) accepted $7,500 during the 2013-14 campaign season, and $7,070 from Baxter Healthcare in the 2017-18.
[Source: http://www.opensecrets.org]
6. Anhydrous ammonia gas (fertilizer) explosion at Green Bay Road and Clarendon
Street in Beach Park (April 25th, 2019)
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6904a4.htm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/ct-met-beach-park-hazmat-spill-20190425-story.html
7. AB Specialty Silicones, 3790 Sunset Avenue, Waukegan (May 3rd, 2019). Silicone
plant explosion.
http://www.andisil.com/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/ct-lns-waukegan-explosion-update-st-0810-20190809-vttkwlm7gvfnha6hbm3j5grp5i-story.html
8. Sterigenics (2
locations [Deerfield and Gurnee], 1 former location [Willowbrook], and another
in Oak Brook that's far from Lake County but is still within the Des Plaines
River watershed) (emitting ethylene oxide
[“EtO”]).
Sterigenics Locations:
- Sterigenics International, Inc.: 1003 Lakeside Drive, Gurnee
- Sterigenics Building I: 7775 Quincy Street, Willowbrook (former location; no
longer exists)
- Sterigenics Building II: 830 Midway, Willowbrook (former location; no longer
exists)
9. Vantage Specialty Chemicals, 3938 Porett Drive, northern Gurnee (released 6,412 pounds of ethylene oxide ["EtO"] in 2014).
http://www.wexlerwallace.com/lake-county-facilities-emit-same-cancer-causing-chemicals-sterigenics/#:~:text=Within%20the%20past%20two%20months,Willowbrook%20is%20not%20the%20only
10. Grayslake Countryside Landfill (31725 IL-83, Grayslake) in 2011. In 1998, the company (owned by Waste Management, Inc. as of 1999) alerted the E.P.A. that "about 795,000 cubic yards of waste had been dumped in the landfill without using a waterproof liner to prevent liquid wastes from leaching into ground water."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/10/01/troubled-landfill-backs-16-million-settlement/
http://patch.com/illinois/grayslake/public-hearing-tonight-on-air-quality-at-grayslake-landfill
http://www.wmsolutions.com/locations/details/id/24
11. Foxconn (3 locations in Wisconsin; 2 of which are in the Des Plaines River
watershed, most of which is located within the State of Illinois). In 2018, Taiwanese-owned phone manufacturer Foxconn (which works with Motorola) was allowed to "suck up to 7 million gallons of water a day from Lake Michigan and then dump that water, which may be laced with pollutants from making liquid crystal display panels, back into the lake."
http://www.dcreport.org/2018/08/14/foxconn-gets-a-pollution-pass-for-its-wisconsin-factory/
and the Des Plaines River Watershed Planning Area,
with Foxconn's three locations in the top left corner
Source for map:
http://www.lakecountyil.gov/2376/Des-Plaines-River-Watershed
Map showing details of Foxconn's locations
(the two southernmost of which are within
the Des Plaines River watershed)
Northern location (13315
Globe Drive, Mt. Pleasant, WI; outside of the Des Plaines River watershed)
http://www.google.com/maps/place/Foxconn+ETC/@42.727865,-87.9254122,11z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sfoxconn+wisconsin!3m4!1s0x0:0x43a62bdb5eda9a71!8m2!3d42.720313!4d-87.9501057
Central location (8418 Durand Avenue, Sturtevant, WI; inside the Des Plaines
River watershed)
http://www.google.com/maps/place/FoxConn/@42.727865,-87.9254122,11z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sfoxconn+wisconsin!3m4!1s0x0:0x9f4211b63f924442!8m2!3d42.6900065!4d-87.9334116
Southern location (in Mt. Pleasant; inside the Des Plaines River watershed)
http://www.google.com/maps/place/FOXCONN+WISCONSIN/@42.727865,-87.9254122,11z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sfoxconn+wisconsin!3m4!1s0x0:0xfc6fb83bdc1d8f12!8m2!3d42.6765041!4d-87.9397631
dcreport.org/2018/08/14/foxconn-gets-a-pollution-pass-for-its-wisconsin-factory/?fbclid=IwAR0IOX0MPHJh1R-pOmP19w5X3HDSAElU7PKRywCu0mdg_i_LHEiO8L2l3yQ
http://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/illinois-plans-to-challenge-epa-ruling-on-foxconn/article_1fbed7dc-1cc5-57cc-a40f-2c1b5c18b13f.html
http://apnews.com/8ac3c33e68274190a84b6154097c53e7/Illinois-officials-concerned-over-Foxconn-plant-impact
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-foxconn-indiana-smog-trump-epa-20190516-story.html
http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/07/illinois-attorney-general-files-suit-against-epa-ozone-rules-cites-impact-foxconn/586479002/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-lawsuit/illinois-to-sue-epa-for-exempting-foxconn-plant-from-pollution-controls-idUSKBN1I52NB?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews
12. North Shore Gas (N.S.G.) - North Plant in Waukegan. Emitted Dense non-aqueous phase liquid (D.N.A.P.L.) into the groundwater. Metals, volatile compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are likely also present.
North Shore Gas - North Plant Location(s):
- Given as "Pershing Road & Dahringer Road, Waukegan" by the E.P.A.
- Another location exists at 3001 Grand Ave., Waukegan
- More locations may have formerly existed in Libertyville, Mundelein, and/or Buffalo Grove)
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0506409
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0506409
http://www.northshoregasdelivery.com/environment/restore-plants
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0506410
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0506410#bkground
13. North Shore Gas (N.S.G.) - South Plant, town unclear (emitted Dense non-aqueous phase liquid (D.N.A.P.L.) into the groundwater). Metals, volatile compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are likely also present.
North Shore Gas - South Plant Location(s):
- Given as "Pershing Road & Dahringer Road, Waukegan" by the E.P.A.
- Another location exists at 3001 Grand Ave., Waukegan
- More locations may have formerly existed in Libertyville, Mundelein, and/or Buffalo Grove)
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0506409
http://www.northshoregasdelivery.com/environment/restore-plants
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0506410
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0506410#bkground
14. AzkoNobel Aerospace Coatings, at 1 East Water St. in Waukegan. Emitting
manganese.
http://enviro.epa.gov/enviro/p2_ef_query.p2_report?facilityId=60085MDLND17EWA&chemicalId=0007439965&reportingYear=2018&docCtrlNum=&Opt=0&pPrintView=1
15. Procter & Gamble Chemicals, at
3500 16th Street in North Chicago.
Charged, by the federal government, with
polluting waterways in the Chicago area, in 1970. Chemical(s) involved were either oil or oily substances, and/or other chemicals. Procter & Gamble was also defeated by the City of Chicago, in the Supreme Court, in 1975, over the company's sale of detergents containing phosphates.
http://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/10/archives/pollution-laid-to-11-companies-criminal-complaints-filed-by-us-over.html
http://casetext.com/case/procter-and-gamble-company-v-city-of-chicago
16-19. Four Companies
Which Possess Facilities Engaged in Rock Crushing
16. Reliable Concrete Pumping, L.L.C. at 700 E. Park Avenue, Libertyville (near
Libertyville's borders with Rondout, Green Oaks, and Lake
Bluff). Rock crushing occurs on this site.
http://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.reliable_concrete_pumping_llc.5bfcc257e26532375859ad61764ed3ae.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Business-Service/Reliable-Concrete-Pumping-INC-724495167703480/
http://www.concretepumpers.com/content/reliable-concrete-pumping-inc-0
http://www.bbb.org/us/wa/snohomish/profile/concrete-pumping/reliable-concrete-pumping-inc-1296-22660041
17. Ozinga concrete company, 30285 Skokie Highway, east Waukegan. Rock crushing
occurs on this site.
http://www.google.com/search?safe=off&sxsrf=ALeKk03jqlo6Dv_yZos5JQ0vuMgG8Eqq8g:1600327753934&source=hp&ei=RhBjX8i4McHcswXEm7S4Cg&q=ozinga&oq=ozinga&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIQCC4QxwEQowIQFBCHAhCTAjIHCAAQFBCHAjIICC4QxwEQrwEyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyCAguEMcBEK8BOgQIIxAnOgQILhAnOgsILhDHARCvARCRAjoLCC4QxwEQowIQkQI6CwguELEDEMcBEKMCOggILhDHARCjAjoICAAQsQMQgwE6DgguEMcBEKMCEJECEJMCOgQIABBDOgUILhCxAzoFCAAQsQM6BwguELEDEEM6BQgAEJIDULQBWOMSYM4TaAFwAHgAgAHtAogBwQqSAQcwLjUuMC4ymAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=2ahUKEwiWkLC61e_rAhVF-6wKHT2aA20QvS4wB3oECBEQIA&uact=5&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=42219153,-87909538,9488&tbm=lcl&rldimm=13945019546349415580&lqi=CgZvemluZ2EiA4gBAVoQCgZvemluZ2EiBm96aW5nYQ&rldoc=1&tbs=lrf:!1m4!1u3!2m2!3m1!1e1!1m4!1u16!2m2!16m1!1e1!1m4!1u16!2m2!16m1!1e2!2m1!1e16!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:4&rlst=f#rlfi=hd:;si:13945019546349415580,l,CgZvemluZ2EiA4gBAVoQCgZvemluZ2EiBm96aW5nYQ;mv:[[42.3179416,-87.67351939999999],[41.993770700000006,-88.3280861]];tbs:lrf:!1m4!1u3!2m2!3m1!1e1!1m4!1u16!2m2!16m1!1e1!1m4!1u16!2m2!16m1!1e2!2m1!1e16!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:4
18. EMCO (3 locations in North Chicago). Rock crushing occurs on at least one
of these sites.
- EMCO Chemical Distribution Center, 3601 Skokie Highway,
Suite F, North Chicago
- EMCO Chemical Packaging, 2100 Commonwealth Avenue, North
Chicago
- EMCO Warehouse, 2510 Commonwealth Avenue, North
Chicago
(near Great Lakes Naval Station in Great
Lakes, Illinois; between North Chicago and Waukegan).
19-23. Five E.P.A.
(Environmental Protection Agency) SuperFund Sites
19. Johns-Manville Corporation in Waukegan. Asbestos disposal site. To be
redeveloped as a soccer and baseball complex. Lies directly to the north of NRG
Waukegan Generating Station (#1 on this list).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/il/epa-sites-city-waukegan
20. Yeoman Creek Landfill in Waukegan. Allowed leachate to enter the local
groundwater.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/il/epa-sites-city-waukegan
21. H.O.D. Landfill in Antioch. Fifty-one acre landfill within a 121-acre area.
Contaminated the groundwater with vinyl chloride.
http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0500581
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Illinois
22. Outboard Marine
Corporation in Waukegan. Released hydraulic fluids with P.C.B. into the
groundwater, and into the harbor on Lake Michigan in Waukegan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Illinois
http://www.epa.gov/il/epa-sites-city-waukegan
23. Petersen Excavating, Inc. (formerly and/or currently known as Petersen Sand
& Gravel) in Gurnee. Illegally dumped paint waste and solvents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Illinois
24-26. Three Sites
Containing Nuclear Materials (One Inside Lake County, Two Outside)
24. Zion Nuclear Generating Station (nuclear power plant), 100 Shiloh Blvd.,
Zion [permanently closed, but nuclear material still being stored on site]
25. Argonne National
Laboratory, at 9700 S. Cass Ave., Lemont, Illinois
http://www.anl.gov
26. "FermiLab" (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory), at Kirk and
Pine St., Batavia, Illinois
http://www.fnal.gov
Thanks to Ethan Windmillsky and Anton Kholod for
helping to build this list
Created Between September 14th and 18th, 2020
Originally published under the title
"List of Fourteen Environmental Disasters Affecting Lake County, Illinois
Over the Last Ten Years"
Published on September 18th, 2020
Edited and expanded on February 16th and 18th, 2024
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