Deal Requires Removal of Chicago 'Petcoke' Piles
CHICAGO (AP) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office says Chicago and state officials have reached a deal with an Indiana company that will require it to remove huge black piles of petroleum coke from the city's Southeast Side.
Known as "petcoke," the material is a powdery byproduct of oil refining that's been accumulating along Midwest shipping channels and sparking health and environmental concerns.
Emanuel and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the deal Thursday.
The mayor said in a statement that officials are "working to force these petroleum coke facilities to either clean up or shut down."
Hammond, Ind.-based Beemsterboer Slag Corp. could not be reached for comment Thursday.
But the company has already been removing carbon-based products from its Chicago facilities and has said it is cooperating fully with Illinois officials.
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