Another fire halts work at troubled General Iron scrap shredder
A fire shut down operations at the General Iron scrap shredder on Tuesday, a week after its owners paid an $18,000 fine for a May explosion at the North Side facility.
Two snorkel trucks from the Chicago Fire Department quickly extinguished the afternoon blaze, which started in a scrap pile while one of the company’s crane-mounted claws stacked flattened cars and used appliances near the mouth of General Iron’s massive shredder near Cortland Street and Clybourn Avenue. No injuries were reported.
It remains unclear what, if any, role the latest fire will play in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision-making as her administration considers whether clout-heavy General Iron should be allowed to move from wealthy, predominantly white Lincoln Park to a low-income, mostly Latino neighborhood on the Southeast Side.
The Chicago Department of Public Health plans to inspect the North Side facility on Wednesday to determine if it can safely resume operations, said Larry Langford, a Fire Department spokesman.
The company said in a statement that it is “investigating possible causes” and "fully cooperating with city officials.”
Lightfoot aides allowed General Iron to continue operating on the North Side shortly after the company repaired damage from the May explosion that tore through equipment intended to prevent metallic pollution from escaping into surrounding neighborhoods.
In return for the fine General Iron agreed to pay last week, the Lightfoot administration absolved the company of any wrongdoing for the explosion and for violations of city health ordinances documented on 11 separate days during late 2019 and early 2020.
People who live nearby continue to report pungent odors and loud noises from the shredder. Their observations contradict statements from city officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which in 2019 demanded several improvements as part of its third legal settlement with General Iron since the mid-1990s.
Top executives at Reserve Management Group, the operation’s current owner, recently told the Chicago Tribune they plan to shut down the North Side facility by the end of the year, fulfilling a commitment they made to Lightfoot after health inspectors began cracking down on code violations.
The company needs final approval from the health department before moving General Iron’s business to the Southeast Side. Aides to Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker already have approved other permits.
General Iron would become the latest polluter in a neglected corner of the city, where residential yards, baseball fields and playgrounds are contaminated with heavy metals and toxic chemicals from other companies, including steelmakers that abandoned the area decades ago.
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