CHICAGO (AP) — A bulk storage operator on Chicago’s Southeast Side will stop storing toxic manganese outside and suspend barge transfers during intense winds to reduce harmful dust blowing into neighborhoods.
The Chicago Tribune reports that S.H. Bell Co. agreed last month to follow a plan created by the Chicago Department of Public Health after the mayor’s administration rejected the company’s proposed overhaul of how it handles manganese. Health officials say the heavy metal used in steelmaking can permanently damage the nervous system and cause learning difficulties and memory loss.
Representatives from a coalition of neighborhood and health groups wrote last month to Mayor Rahm Emanuel citing an urgent need to protect children from manganese exposure. More than 1,700 children age 5 and younger live within a mile of the facility.
