In the News

By John Diedrich

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is negotiating a settlement with a chain of troubled chemical barrel refurbishing plants but may sue the company to force compliance if negotiations break down, officials said Saturday.

An EPA official also revealed that the agency's Chicago office is examining similar operations across the Midwest and sharing findings with EPA counterparts nationwide, as they investigate whether other plants have the same kind of violations uncovered at the facilities in St. Francis, Milwaukee and Oak Creek.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is examining safety at a dozen plants in nine other states based on what was found in the Milwaukee-area facilities.

The comments came at a pair of public meetings held Saturday in St. Francis and Milwaukee. Hosted by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), officials from EPA and DOT as well as the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry attended.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation published in February revealed dangers to workers and the public from the plants here and in three other states. Since then, five agencies, including the EPA and DOT, have issued more than 70 violations against the plants here.

The government continues to analyze air samples collected near the St. Francis facility to determine whether the plant's emissions are a hazard to human health, but more data is needed, officials said. If a health hazard is detected, EPA vowed to move quickly.

"To the extent that an imminent and substantial endangerment exists, EPA will use its statutory authority to protect human health and the environment," said Sarah Marshall, section chief for EPA's Air and Radiation Division for the Midwest.

The EPA did air testing only at the St. Francis facility where it received numerous odor complaints, not in Milwaukee and Oak Creek.

Residents expressed frustration at why more thorough air testing has not already been done. They pointed that out that when two EPA inspectors spent a week in the area over summer talking to residents about health concerns, they personally reported feeling symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and numbness in their hands and feet.

"We have to live here. Those investigators don't live here," resident Michael Grimshaw said. "You want to prove there is actual harm before you enforce the law and I cannot agree with that."

Grimshaw said the parent company of the Mid-America Steel Drum plant has no credibility with residents.

"They have ignored us, lied to us and we can't trust them," he said.

Several residents said there is a lot of cancer in the neighborhood that needs to be investigated to see whether it is occurring at an usually high rate. Officials from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said Saturday that it would examine the cancer concern.

About 60 people attended the meeting in St. Francis and 30 at the one in Milwaukee, near the plant in the 2300 block of W. Cornell St. The company has a third plant, in Oak Creek, in a district represented by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The agencies were not asked to speak in Oak Creek.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not attend the meetings. Both have issued violations against the plants and continue to investigate.

The three plants, known locally as Mid-America, are operated by Container Life Cycle Management, a joint venture majority owned by Greif Inc., a $3.3 billion Ohio-based firm. CLCM also operates plants in Arkansas and Tennessee. A plant in Indiana was recently closed.

Mid-America refurbishes and recycles steel barrels and plastic containers used to carry chemicals and other products.

Drums are run through a furnace at the Oak Creek facility to burn off chemicals. In St. Francis, drums and plastic containers are cleaned using a hot water and chemical washing operation, though residents and workers said in the past burning was done at that location. The Milwaukee operation deals only with plastic containers, washing and recycling them.

St. Francis residents are worried about what chemical concoctions are being made in the plant on S. Pennsylvania Ave. Jim Felber said he took a tour and was concerned that workers lack training.

"They know how to clean barrels, but they have no clue how to handle the chemicals," he said. "It's like going to a scrap yard and having them remove asbestos. They are making chemical cocktails and they have no idea what they are doing."

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