ILLINOIS

POLLUTION

CONTROL BOARD

June 22,

1978

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

Complainant,

v.

)

PCB 77—164

KRAFT CHEMICAL COMPANY,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr. Young):

This matter comes before the Board on a Complaint

filed June 20,

1977, by the People of the State of

Illinois charging that Respondent had caused or allowed

the emission~~

of chemical waste material into the atmosphere

so as to cause air pollution in violation of Section

9(a)

of the Environmental Protection Act.

Hearing was held in

this matter on May 10, 1978,

at which time

a Stipulation

and Proposal for Settlement executed by the parties was

introduced into the record pursuant to Section

331 of the

Board~sProcedural Rules.

No members of the public were

present at the hearing.

Respondent is engaged in the receiving,

storing and

shipping of chemicals and chemical materials and is lo-

cated at 917 West 18th Street, Chicago, Cook County,

Illinois.

The parties stipulate to certain facts regarding the

disposal of old files, paper, wood pallets, cardboard, fiber-

board and metal drums by Kraft into a dumpster which was

delivered by XL Disposal Corporation to Kraft and picked up

by XL on June

16,

1977, about 3:15 pPm.

The driver was

entering the south-bound Dan Ryan Expressway

at the 18th

Street ramp when the dumpster burst into flames; he dropped

the flaming dumpster at approximately 24th Street out of

concern for his own safety

(Stip. p2-3),

The flames and

smoke were so intense traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway

was halted in both directions until 5:55 p.m.

The Illinois

Department of Transportation has calculated

that the tie-up

resulted in 2,500 excess hours of travel time and an esti-

mated economic cost of $10,000.00

(Stip.

p3).

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487

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The contents of the dumpster were completely destroyed

eliminating an exact determination of the cause of combustion;

Illinois Environmental Protection Aqency analysis of charred

material indicated higher levels of sodium and nitrates than

would have resulted from the burning of the wood,

cardboard,

paper and metal deposited

in the dumpster by Kraft

(Stip.

p3)

Kraft denies that It violated Section

9(a) hut offers

no evidence to refute Complainant’s contention of violation

(Stip. p4).

In settlement,

the parties stipulate and agree that

Kraft shall pay $1,500.00 for the violations alleged and

take remedial action to prevent recurrence of the incident

(Stip. p5—6)

On the basis of the foregoing and the Stipulation and

Proposal for Settlement entered into the record on May 10,

1978,

the Board finds that the Respondent did, on June 16,

1977,

cause or allow the emission of contaminants into the

atmosphere causing air pollution

in violation of Section 9(a)

of the Environmental Protection Act,

(See EPA v.

Chicago

and Northwestern Transportation Company, et al, PCB 76-155,

June

8,

1978.)

The Board further

finds that $1,500.00

is

a sufficient penalty for the violation found herein and will

assess that amount as the penalty for the infraction.

The

Board has considered the application of the requirements

of

Section 33(c)

of the Act to the facts and circumstances

herein and finds

the Stipulation and Proposal

for Settlement

acceptable under Rule

331.

This Opinion constitutes the Board’s

findings of fact

and conclusions

of law in this matter.

ORDER

1.

Respondent, Kraft Chemical Company,

is found to have

caused or allowed the emission of contaminants into the en—

vironmerit so as

to cause or tend to cause air pollution in

Illinois

in violation of Section 9(a)

of the Environmental

Protection Act.

The Board will assess a penalty of

$1,500.00

for such violation; penalty payment by certified check or

money order payable to the State of Illinois shall be made

not later than

35 days of the date of this Order to:

Office

of the Attorney General, Environmental Control Division,

Suite

2315,

188 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois,

60601.

2.

Respondent,

Kraft Chemical Company,

shall comply

with all of the terms and conditions

of the Stipulation and

Proposal for Settlement filed May 10,

1978, which is incorporated

by reference as

if fully set forth herein.

30—’~88

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3~

IT IS SO ORDERED.

I, Christan L.

Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution

Control Board, here~’ certify the above Opinion and Order were

adopted

n the ~

day of

-

1978 by a

vote of

~

Illinois

Board

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