Five months after Rockton's Chemtool explosion: Here's what we know

ROCKTON — What several took days to burn is going to take several months, if not longer, to clean up.

Sunday marked five months since the June 14 chemical explosion and fire that destroyed the Chemtool plant at 1165 Prairie Hill Road.

The massive fire that could be seen for miles forced a five-day evacuation for residents living within one mile of the facility, which manufactured grease, lubricating oil and fluids.

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Much of the charred, fire-ravaged site looks the same today as it did days after the fire and many of those affected by the blaze still are waiting for answers about long-term health and environmental impact.

Here is what we know so far:

Portable water tanks removed

At the time of the fire, a large trench or moat was dug around the plant to collect water contaminated by the fire and by chemicals that were applied to the fire. The runoff was collected in the moat to keep it from entering the nearby Rock River.

The moat continues to collect runoff water after heavy rains. The water is then removed and stored in the 18,000- to 21,000-gallon frac tanks, portable storage units the size of semi-trailers.

There used to be 50 or more of those tanks on the site once, Village President John Peterson said. Those are gone.

"They've been moving them to some place out of state," Peterson said of the frac tanks, "but I don't know where."

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Chemtool employees are at the site

Much of the water monitoring and removal is being done, Peterson said, by an unspecified number of Chemtool employees who were retained to work at the site.

Alicia Gauer, a spokeswoman for Lubrizol, the parent company of Chemtool, confirmed that there are Chemtool employees still working at the site, but she did not say how many.

"We have retained some employees to support the needs tied to site cleanup or continued Chemtool business support," she said. "These employees work primarily out of a nearby commercial and technical facility."

The rest of Chemtool's 225 employees were transferred to other Lubrizol-owned plants, received help in finding jobs elsewhere at other chemical or similarly-operated facilities or were presented with severance packages.

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Chris Brown was named Lubrizol's new president and CEO on Aug. 20.

Peterson said he has been told that Brown has was visited the Chemtool site in Rockton more than once, but Brown and Peterson have not met.

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Cleanup is being planned

Plans to clean up the site have yet to be finalized.

"We are reviewing site clean-up proposals with the proper local and state organizations and remain committed to the site cleanup," Gauer said.

One of those state organizations is the state Environmental Protection Agency, whom Peterson said must sign off on any cleanup plans. Calls made to the IEPA were not returned.

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Illinois AG is watching

The Illinois Attorney General's Office is taking an active role in monitoring the clean up process at Chemtool.

Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Kwame Raoul, said in a statement to the Register Star:

"Chemtool is removing wastewater and solid waste, continuing to sample, and taking steps to remediate the site. The Attorney General’s office remains committed to protecting the health and wellness of residents, and we are working to reach a resolution that ensures Chemtool will address any remaining contamination and takes steps to prevent an event like this from happening again."

Peterson said he and other village officials want to review any cleanup plans, too.

Long-term plans not known

Rockton residents, the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office and the Illinois Attorney General's Office have filed suits against Lubrizol.

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Village President John Peterson said it's too early to say if Lubrizol would have the village's blessings to rebuild on site.

"I don't know what their plans are," he said. "Do they want to rebuild? Do they want to build a warehouse facility or something. Or, are they just going to tear it down and clean it up and then not do anything with it? They have not approached me with anything yet."

Chris Green: cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Five months after Rockton's Chemtool explosion: Here's what we know