To: Rahm Emanuel, Mayor, President Donald Trump, The Illinois State House, The Illinois State Senate, Governor J.B. Pritzker, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Stop The Petcoke Contamination in Chicago
Sign on to petition Mayor Rahm Emanuel to protect Lake Michigan and surrounding communities from the pollution of exposed piles of petcoke. Koch is bad for your health.
Why is this important?
What is petcoke? Petcoke is a byproduct being produced in massive amounts across the Indiana border at the BP oil refinery. Petcoke is the resultant of refining darker Canadian oil from tar sands. Due to environmental laws that are more strict in Indiana, BP is shipping the toxic waste to be stored on the Illinois side via barge. The petcoke is being stored at KCBX a company owned by Koch Industries.
Apparently the guidelines in Illinois allow KCBX to store this material in the open air. On windy days, the air is filled with huge swirling clouds of black petcoke, coating everything in this heavily populated area. Prolonged exposure creates asthmatic symptoms in as little as 24 months. People are unable to open their windows or enjoy a picnic in their backyards. This has regional impacts. Think it doesn't affect you? Take another drink of water. The petcoke is being stored on the banks of the Calumet River, which is a direct tributary and directly adjacent to Lake Michigan. The piles have already reached 4 to 5 stories in height. Lake Michigan serves drinking water to over 8 million Chicagoans and citizens of outlying areas. This has global impacts. The petcoke is being stored on the southside of Chicago until it can be shipped to foreign countries with more lax environmental laws. China has been the largest importer of petcoke. The petcoke is being used as an alternative to coal. The problem is that petcoke burns three times dirtier than coal.
The mayor of Detroit kicked petcoke out of their area with the pressure of the people, and its not allowed to be stored in this manner in Indiana. This problem will not go away on it's own. BP is set to triple their production this coming year. Why are we subject to this poison? Tell Mayor Rham Emanuel to remove those petcoke piles. Tell the Koch brothers that Lake Michigan is not their dumping ground. We all have the right to clean air and drinking water.
Apparently the guidelines in Illinois allow KCBX to store this material in the open air. On windy days, the air is filled with huge swirling clouds of black petcoke, coating everything in this heavily populated area. Prolonged exposure creates asthmatic symptoms in as little as 24 months. People are unable to open their windows or enjoy a picnic in their backyards. This has regional impacts. Think it doesn't affect you? Take another drink of water. The petcoke is being stored on the banks of the Calumet River, which is a direct tributary and directly adjacent to Lake Michigan. The piles have already reached 4 to 5 stories in height. Lake Michigan serves drinking water to over 8 million Chicagoans and citizens of outlying areas. This has global impacts. The petcoke is being stored on the southside of Chicago until it can be shipped to foreign countries with more lax environmental laws. China has been the largest importer of petcoke. The petcoke is being used as an alternative to coal. The problem is that petcoke burns three times dirtier than coal.
The mayor of Detroit kicked petcoke out of their area with the pressure of the people, and its not allowed to be stored in this manner in Indiana. This problem will not go away on it's own. BP is set to triple their production this coming year. Why are we subject to this poison? Tell Mayor Rham Emanuel to remove those petcoke piles. Tell the Koch brothers that Lake Michigan is not their dumping ground. We all have the right to clean air and drinking water.