What Cicero And Stickney Residents Need To Know About The Koppers Coal Tar Plant
Cicero, Ill., residential homes on November 25, 2023. (Jesus J. Montero of the Cicero Independiente)
By Dillon Bergin, Jorge Martinez, Glenda Valdes and Derek Kravitz
What is Koppers?
Koppers is a chemical plant on the south side of Pershing Road, on the border between Cicero and Stickney. The plant opened in 1922 and has operated in Cicero for more than 100 years. It converts crude tar waste from steel production and petroleum refining into refined tar, chemical oils and creosote — a sticky, yellow liquid which is oftentimes used as a preservative to treat wood against termites, fungi and other pests.
For decades, neighboring residents have battled with the plant over the air pollution it emits.
What chemicals does the plant release into the air and are they harmful?
Koppers emits several types of what are known as “volatile organic compounds,” or hazardous gasses that can cause short-term and chronic health problems. Koppers pollutes more of two types of these gasses — naphthalene and benzene — than anywhere else in Cook County.
Naphthalene, a chemical used in pesticides, can cause headaches and dizziness. The EPA categorizes naphthalene as a chemical that possibly causes cancer. However, the state of California has classified naphthalene as a substance known to cause cancer since 2002.
Benzene, on the other hand, is one of the most widely used and dangerous carcinogens in the U.S. Recognizable by its sweet scent at gas stations, benzene is extensively researched, with links to leukemia and other blood cancers.
Are they legally allowed to release chemicals that may cause cancer or other health problems?
Federal and state environmental laws don’t stop polluters from emitting chemicals into the air that cause cancer or other health problems. Instead, these laws place a limit on how much of those pollutants can be released.
Experts say the pollution levels that the Illinois EPA sets are not necessarily protective of everybody in a given community. In recent violations, Koppers has also been accused by the Illinois EPA of exceeding the limits of what they are allowed to pollute.
What is the government doing to help?
The Illinois EPA has issued more than 50 violations against Koppers since 2000, attempting to correct environmental concerns at the plant. In 2021 and 2022, the Illinois EPA submitted referrals to the Illinois Attorney General’s office, asking the agency to pursue legal action.
State prosecutors could impose financial penalties, file a lawsuit against Koppers or even temporarily or permanently close the plant.
It’s unclear what local officials are doing, if anything.
Officials with the town of Cicero and village of Stickney didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from Cicero Independiente and MuckRock. After MuckRock and the Independiente published its first investigation about Koppers in December, the company enlisted a crisis communications firm to meet with local elected officials, answer questions about the story and create a community advisory panel to deal with the fallout.
But nothing has been publicly released about these meetings or the community panel.
What can I do to reduce my exposure to harmful pollutants and know about what's happening at Koppers?
If you smell foul odors outside and live near the Koppers plant, the safest course you can take is to go inside and close your windows, experts say. You can also submit a pollution complaint to the Illinois EPA online. If you believe it is an emergency, call the Illinois Emergency Management Agency at 800-782-7860.
To keep up with the violations and issues at Koppers, you can follow Muckrock's newsletter or Cicero Independiente through Instagram @ciceroindependiente.
Support for this project came from the Data-Driven Reporting Project, which is funded by the Google News Initiative in partnership with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism; the Rita Allen Foundation; the Reva and David Logan Foundation; the Healthy Communities Foundation; the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri.
Reporting and writing for “The Air We Breathe” by Dillon Bergin, Jorge Martinez, Glenda Valdes, and Derek Kravitz. Data analysis by Dillon Bergin of MuckRock. Drone photos by Jesus J. Montero for the Cicero Independiente and editing by Kelly Kauffman of MuckRock. Editing by Derek Kravitz of MuckRock and April Alonso, Irene Romulo and Luis Velazquez of the Cicero Independiente. Sensor installation by Sanjin Ibrahimovic of MuckRock.
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