More testing needs to be done in and around the area where the Carus Chemical fire happened, according to the Sierra Club. It’s part of a letter the environmental organization is going to send to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Toxic and Remediation Specialist Denise Trabbic-Pointer says testing done on soil, water, and the air wasn’t done properly by Brownfield, the city of LaSalle’s third-party consultant, the US Environmental Protection Agency, IEPA, or the Illinois Department of Public Health. She also says the IEPA didn’t want to address what was found in furnace filters tested from different homes.
She recommended more soil testing in areas south and west of Carus Chemical and at the Matthiessen park and playground. She also says sediment at the bottom of the Little Vermillion River near Carus should be tested. The club also wants the city to work with the LaSalle Public Library to pull data from the air as Carus continues production on making potassium permanganate.