In what could be considered the worst environmental hazard in the Chicagoland area, gigantic piles of petcoke, a waste product from refining Canadian tar sands, line the Calumet River on the city's far southeast side causing dramatic reductions in air quality and water polution. The issue has been gaining a lot of national media attention lately, however the piles still remain. Communities surrounding the piles have been regularly hosting meetings about the issue, and Mayor Emanuel has pledged to ban the toxic waste from the city, forcing the Whiting Refinery to either clean up its act or find somewhere else to store its petcoke. All NIMBY battles aside, we think that no community wants this stuff in their backyard.
· Neighborhood Fight to End Petcoke Dust Gets Big Boost [Chicagoist]
· Pet coke only the latest pollution threat on the Southeast side [WBEZ]
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