Chemetco

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Chemetco was formerly one of the largest United States refiners of copper (Cu) from recycled or residual sources. Its maximum output of 120,000 tonnes per annum was approximately 50% of the entire US copper output from so-called "secondary copper refining".

The company originated on June 9, 1969 as an Illinois corporation, Chemico Metals Corporation. On 23 March 1970, it became a Delaware corporation. In 1973, the company changed its name to Chemetco. By 1980, it employed around 200 staff.

On November 13, 2001, the company filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, following conviction by a US federal court and a fine of $3.86 million. Chemetco was charged on four counts: conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act, violation of the Clean Water Act and two counts of making false statements. These offences are felonies.


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[edit] Operation

[edit] Production

Chemetco had been a major producer of high-purity copper derived from secondary sources – recycled and residual materials. The smelter had three 70-ton, gas-fired furnaces, each with a capacity of 40,000 tonnes of refined copper per annum. Copper-bearing scrap for the furnaces was collected across the United States and Canada. Copper anodes (98% Cu purity) emerged from the furnace as an intermediate product. For a number of years, they were electrolysed by Chemetco to produce a higher-purity copper cathode (99.98% Cu purity.) However, the company later discontinued electrolysis of its own copper and sold copper anodes, each weighing 740 lbs, to other producers.

[edit] Refining process

Copper-bearing material was smelted to produce black copper, containing impurities such as lead, tin and zinc. Black copper was refined using oxygen, producing 98% copper, along with a zinc oxide residue and a slag containing lead, tin, nickel and a number of heavy metals.

What Chemetco described as ‘zinc oxide’ was extracted from furnace flue gases using a scrubber system. The zinc oxide, along with the slag, became a waste product. The term ‘zinc oxide’ was something of a misnomer, as lead, cadmium and other elements were also present.

[edit] Prosecution and conviction

On 18th September 1986, an enforcement officer for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) discovered a hidden pipe, discharging toxic waste from the refinery into Long Lake, a tributary of the Mississippi River.

Investigations showed that the secret pipe had been active for ten years. A large area of wetland was contaminated with zinc oxide, lead, cadmium and other pollutants at several times the threshold for a public health hazard. Visible evidence of contamination extended five feet down into the bed of Long Lake on property owned by Chemetco.

The site was sealed and remediation began. However, the process was to prove protracted and several years later, it has not been possible to fully complete the process.

During the criminal trial, one witness estimated that the plant discharged waste through the pipe for 330 days out of 365. Thirteen employees testified to using the pipe to discharge contaminated water.

Additionally, Chemetco discharged contaminated storm water every time it rained on the plant. A pump was automatically triggered, discharging pollutant-laden stormwater through the secret pipe. The prosecution calculated that this automatic process had occurred 948 times over a ten-year period.

Chemetco hampered the investigation of its illegal activity by making materially false statements. (See United States vs Chemetco, Criminal No. 99-300480WDS, 'Government's Report In Compliance with Court order of July 1, 1999':8)

Three and a half years after the discovery of the secret pipe, Chemetco had failed to present an approvable plan for remediating the contaminated area.

Chemetco had a long history of violations. For example, in August and September 1992, while taking air emission readings, Chemetco was caught using articulated lorries and water sprinklers as a buffer in front the air emission monitors. This was in contravention of the Clean Air Act, 42. For a period, Chemetco was the single biggest producer of atmospheric lead in the United States.

Before sentencing, the court described Chemetco's conduct as "willful and egregious".

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