November 13, 2024
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Carus Chemical in La Salle says town hall meetings with residents, council members are coming

Carus says goal is to address community concerns

By Derek Barichello
Dozens of garbage dumpsters remain at the site along with excavators as crews continue to clean the area of destruction from the chemical fire three-months later at Carus Chemical on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 in La Salle.

Dozens of garbage dumpsters remain Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at the Carus Chemical site in La Salle along with excavators as crews continue to clean the area of destruction from the January fire. Carus Chemical LLC said it plans to host a series of town hall meetings in La Salle over the next several months to address community concerns in the aftermath of the Jan. 11 chemical plant fire. (Scott Anderson)

Carus Chemical said it plans to host a series of town hall meetings in La Salle over the next several months to address community concerns in the aftermath of the Jan. 11 chemical plant fire.

La Salle Mayor Jeff Grove met with Carus CEO Andy Johnston on Wednesday, at the company’s request. Grove had led a protest April 12 in front Carus’ headquarters in Peru, along with other residents, asking the company to meet with the community.

We know there are still questions and concerns, and we are committed to working with everyone involved.”

—  Carus CEO Andy Johnston

Carus said its goal is to address community concerns “in a proactive and positive way.” The community will be invited to ask questions and hear directly from Carus leadership. The local community and the City Council will be invited to participate, Carus said in a news statement.

“While we have proactively communicated with the city of La Salle, Environmental Protection Agency, IEPA, and others since Jan. 11, we feel it’s important to hear directly from the community about their concerns and collectively chart a path forward,” Johnston said in a news release. “The meeting with Mayor Grove was extremely helpful in outlining next steps. We know there are still questions and concerns, and we are committed to working with everyone involved.”

La Salle residents who have attended City Council meetings since the Jan. 11 fire have asked for more environmental testing, after a number of independent furnace filter, soil and other tests have shown elevated levels of some heavy metals. The EPA and Illinois Department of Public Health said in a letter March 31 it does not believe additional testing would be useful and able to determine the impact to residents caused by the Carus Chemical fire, but residents believe the agencies were too hasty in their testing and would like more comprehensive samples taken.

Review of continuous monitoring from the air monitor at La Salle Public Library indicated a significant increase in three-hour averages the day of the fire and slowly increasing levels as Carus brought its processes back online, said Denise Trabbic-Pointer, a certified hazardous materials manager volunteering her time in La Salle. Pointer indicated those findings should warrant further testing.

Carus posts updates from the company to its website, sharing information in the aftermath of the fire, but residents have said their questions go beyond the scope of what Carus has addressed in those postings.

The dates for the future meetings have not yet been announced. The mayor said he encouraged Carus to schedule the meetings soon, so residents can put them on their calendar.