Toxic Tours Use Sightseeing to Call Attention to Local Pollution Sites

Dec. 4, 2008

Story by Iliana Ramirez

Community Assets Toxic Tours started as a way to get community members aware of their neighborhoods’ environmental hazards. Eight years later, they are still going strong.

The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), located at 2856 S. Millard St., has been working with community members in voicing their concerns about the environment around them.

The prominently Mexican-American community of Little Village is home to more than 90,000, making it Chicago’s densest neighborhood, according to the U.S Census Bureau. Little Village’s industrial corridor is also home to a range of factories and body shops and LVEJO has been working with the community to co-exist with the factories.

The tours start at the LVEJO office and head south to the sites along Millard Street. The tour guide explains the impact the factories have on the community. As you go into the heart of the Little Village industrial corridor, semi-trucks and dust from the gravel floor greet you.

The purpose of the tour is to pressure entities such as the Crawford Power Plant, one of eight coal-burning power plants in Illinois owned by Midwest Generation, to regulate their practices. Midwest Generation is one of the largest independent power producers in the U.S, two of which are located in Chicago: one in the Little Village neighborhood and the other just four miles away in Pilsen, another predominantly Mexican-American community.

According to Edison International’s Web site, Midwest Generation (a subsidiary of Edison) produces enough electricity to meet the needs of more than eight million households. None of the energy produced at the Crawford station is used in Illinois. Midwest Generation’s corporate office in Chicago did not respond to numerous requests for comment regarding the Community Asset Toxic Tours.

Kimberly Wasserman, a coordinator at LVEJO, created the Community Asset Toxic Tours eight years ago as a way to get the community involved, active and aware of the environmental issues that the area faces.

“It gives a sense of neighborhood and the chance for the youth and community folks to voice their concerns about the environment they live in,” said Wasserman.

The Community Assets Toxic Tours have become popular; many student groups and professionals have participated. The tours are not just limited to listening, as they now include activities like soil sampling, “bucket brigade” air testing for chemicals and other activities depending on group size and interest.

“The tours are a way for people to see and smell what Little Village faces every day and what other people in the city should care about” said Lili Molina, a youth organizer at LVEJO. “There’s no such thing as an air barrier.”

Molina describes feeling sick and getting headaches when conducting a Community Asset Toxic Tour near the steel drum recycling area.

“In the summer months the smells of toxics can be overwhelming,” Molina added.

According to a study by the Harvard Medical School of Public Health, there are 41 premature deaths and 550 emergency room visits annually from health problems that are connected to the coal power plant. Coal burning produces mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which are leading green house gases.

Rafael Hurtado, an 18-year-old senior at Little Village Lawndale High School, took the tour and was determined to get involved in his neighborhood.

“It’s important for people to know and decide what they want for their community,” said Hurtado.  He is now training to give the tours himself and get more of his peers involved.

The tours have helped mobilize people to demand that Midwest Generation clean up or shut down the Crawford Power Plant along with all the other plants in Illinois. Organizers say the popularity of the tour has lead to the Crawford station planting a few trees around the power plant.

“The Community Asset Toxic Tours also highlights our accomplishments,” said Wasserman, “We are making an impact if they are improving.”

Meyer Steel Drum, also located in the area, refurbishes and distributes metal drums to customers in the Chicagoland area. The drums arrive with chemical residue, which is then disposed of and burnt off with a fire torch, re-painted and shipped to their clients.

In the past, some irresponsible practices were reported by nearby residents, along with illnesses. LVEJO, along with the community, took action collecting dust and ash samples in addition to taking pictures of illegal dumping. Due to pressure from several fronts, Meyer Steel Drum invested in employee safety and regulated some of their practices.

The tour’s route takes you to plastics recycling, chemical sites, drum manufacturing and brown fields in the Little Village community. The tour also highlights the community’s struggle to hold industry and government officials accountable for environmental hazards and the difference that youth groups and communication can make.

CORRECTION: The original version of this article listed Rafael Hurtado’s school as Little Village Academy. Hurtado is a student at Little Village Lawndale High School.  ChicagoTalks regrets the error.