I Visited the MOST TOXIC Small Town in Illinois

[@ChrisHarden]

Illinois Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeKoOBxconpFSyUSO32NKREy USA Small Town Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeILqWIwMkMLAV7t7UeD7E8J Help me grow my other channels! KZbin.com/@NostalgiaToursRadio KZbin.com/@ChrisHardenArchives ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=35.2437531716631%2C-91.53765609999999&z=5 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: [e-mail] On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7 On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

[@lew1422]

@@ChrisHarden Thanks. I use to have distant Family in DePue. Now I wonder what killed them.

[@ShawnW-y7i]

Here's the problem with Superfund sites they dredge up contaminated soil and ship it out to where there is pristine land that's just moving one problem into tomorrow's problem

[@sherryditzler7908]

When cleanup happens where are the materials taken and how do they properly dispose of them?

[@justinstiff5641]

Southern Illinois? Uhh 🤔

[@PYRO-ON]

Democrats have us paying the highest property taxes and retail taxes in the nation in Illinois. I live in downtown Chicago and I pay $20 for a pack of cigarettes. ALSO THE MOST TOXIC (potentially) part of Illinois is not far from me in the Cook County Forest preserves in Palos Hills, where the CP one and CP2 reactors from the Manhattan project were buried. Insanely radioactive, garbage buried at a time when the world knew nothing of the effects of radiation, literally a couple of blocks away from Argonne laboratory. They’re even marked with headstones in the forest preserve and there’s already signs of them starting to leak because they just encased them in concrete and buried them, it has the potential to be the most hazardous nuclear disaster in history. If you look at the spots where they’re buried all the grass and foliage in the forest is dead nothing grows in that immediate area. HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE A NUCLEAR ☢️ INCIDENT AFFECTING MILLIONS in the Chicago suburbs and Chicagoland area!! we’re paying the highest property taxes in the nation for potentially soon to be radioactive death trap land that will be worthless and you know the government will not make anyone whole, especially if it’s millions of people, especially Illinois crooked communist radical socialist government let alone the crooked federal government. They can lose trillions of unaccounted for dollars at the Pentagon every year, but God forbid they spend a few hundred million to take care of their own tax paying citizens.

[@buckjones4901]

The company that left the slag pile should be sued for millions and forced to clean up their mess.

[@FixIt1975]

These companies just claim bankruptcy and open under another name. That's how they get out of cleaning up this shit. But I agree completely. They should be on the hook to clean up their mess. Google Lipari Landfill here in my home state. The government paid for the clean up

[@maxwolf2726]

Not the first one and it won't be the last one the biggest problem is these clowns file for bankruptcy when their company is done indigenous left up to the taxpayers to clean up their site that they contaminated good example was the Love canal in upstate New York they were dumping nothing but toxic drums that leeched out 30-40 years later , everyone started getting cancer ,

[@zanelance-hardman4826]

They file for bankruptcy usually and then taxpayers are on the hook for it.

[@Userqwerty349]

ExxonMobil. The government gives them enough corporate welfare they can afford it.

[@lexwaldez]

No. The people that made that decision should spend their lives in prison.

[@jdcjr50]

This is real journalism. I was born in this area. Thank you.

[@dlicht45]

No accountability for big corporations

[@solaradam7470]

neither our politians, but people think they still have to vote

[@cosmictraveler1146]

@@solaradam7470any other ideas on how to change stuff realistically?

[@sloopadoodle]

@@cosmictraveler1146 I share the founders idea on what to do, I can not comment here ion this platform or in the US without a visit from several federal agencies. I can give you a hint though, it involves a trial, a wall, and lead.

[@frankkolton1780]

Don't worry, Trump is going to take them to task, he hates big corp..., never mind, look for more cutbacks in environmental standards and programs, "they're bad for US business".

[@Bunnicula71]

I am from Granite City, IL and I would say that we are #1. The EPA took my grandmother's yard. Scrape cleans everywhere. Slag piles and a MASSIVE steel mill complex with other heavy industrial sites rusting away. Oh, and there is a coke plant, coke for making steel, not for drinking. We have a TOTALLY polluted oxbow lake too, Horseshoe Lake. It is literally in contact with the sacrifice zone that is Granite City Steel.

[@garnerjoyce606]

Who owns windmills?

[@garnerjoyce606]

No hydro electric?

[@garnerjoyce606]

That shallow?

[@skilledelectrician573]

Lets just agree that illinois is a cesspool, from the mines to the politicians.

[@jarretclark9924]

This sounds a lot like bartonville

[@gator8r]

I worked at the mushroom farm from 1980 till it's closing , Jan 2023. There were more than a hundred people who lost their job. At its peak, there were over 500 employees. That's not the problem, the problem is the higher rate of cancer and illnesses coming from the toxicity from the zinc plant. I put in an application for a job there before working at the farm. Glad I didn't get an offer. The corporations need to be held accountable and or sued to oblivion to get something done. As the saying goes - "I have no dog in this fight", but I have worked with and know many who do.

[@Userqwerty349]

While the zinc plant was operating if anyone would have tried to do anything about this everyone would be screaming about losing the jobs.

[@kimlarso]

High lead level in children in the surrounding areas😢

[@dodieoinst4598]

​@@Userqwerty349 they just need to find new ones. I'm sure they'd love to.

[@markvogel5872]

I like the interviews with the locals! Nice feature to add to this, hopefully this will help these people get some attention to the problem.

[@craignovy2090]

Thanks!

[@ChrisHarden]

Wow, thank you for the generous super chat!

[@Rosielu-c5g]

I saw the title and thought they gotta be talking about DePue. Clicked on and yes. Wow.

[@PaganWizard]

I've lived in Illinois for all of my 60 trips around the Sun, and I've always thought that Springfield was Illinois' most toxic town.

[@ChrisHarden]

Well...

[@Harold_Callahan]

Danville IL has a superfund site too. It's actually located in Hegeler IL just south of Danville. Look due west of town then look for Grape Creek and you will see it. It's another former zinc smelting facility.

[@BD-qq4fn]

Now that’s funny!

[@mbsly1]

I live in Jacksonville Illinois 20 min from Springfield , I agree with this comment

[@skilledelectrician573]

Everywhere along the I&M canal. The entire illinois valley has been mined or currently being mined.

[@GonzalezSix67]

I had no clue this existed, thanks for the informative video! Interesting!

[@JoeFredBufarski]

I used to work for a chemical recycling company and we had to learn all the hazmat stuff.This is one of the super funds that we learned about.

[@steveeuphrates-river7342]

Some company made a crapload of money and then left a huge mess for us to clean up with our tax dollars

[@bigfrank3283]

and they have parks named after them all over the area

[@danielarias1604]

That’s boomers for ya

[@QAlba1074]

No amount of money is going to help clean this stuff up... there is no "away" in industrial society. All the waste produced by industrial society after the industrial revolution has accumulated on earth... it has not gone out of earth.

[@jhe001]

I worked at the old New Jersey Zinc Company in 1968 as a lab technician. I didn’t live in Depue, I lived in LaSalle. I taught my future wife there, as a summer student, when she was in college. Depue was a company town, nothing more nothing less. Almost all the population worked at or for the plant. While I worked there we had a release of sulfuric acid. It rained down on the town and ruined siding and cars all over. I had purchased a new 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. I got money to replace the trim it pitted. The slag piles were full of heavy metals and because there was no containment, it leeched into everything. Now, the people are suffering for it. NJZ was bought and sold many times before it was finally closed for good. I wasn’t working there when it closed forever ‘cause I got drafted into the army in 1969 and when I got out I didn’t go back there to work there, when I got out.

[@davemelton3659]

You act like anyone cares about your BS

[@jefryt67]

Nice car, I bet you were furious!

just curious. we wasn't the factory proactive with waste? I know this was a common thing with all factories, like the big three, to dump waste.

[@jestewart2009]

thank you for your service

[@doktortutankamazon31]

Ottawa is a superfund site also. The Radium Girls statue is not uniquely Ottawa. This is what you get when you want industrialization. I see the comments blaming current politicians but let's be honest, this damage was done before most were even born. You still run a risk of poisoning by placing a garden in your lawn all through The Illinois River Valley.

[@foreverfishingillinois815]

I've been drinking and eating the food here all my life probably explains why everyone dies of cancer

[@kimlarso]

The smell mid summer 😢

[@user-pd5ot4zd4b]

Yes! Thank you. People love to complain about regulation, and then are outraged by the lack of accountability. Ask forgiveness, not permission, etc. These towns were sacrificed in the name of progress and yet we want it both ways. Choose regulation or the courts after the fact, unless someone has a new idea.

[@bigfrank3283]

Lasalle is a superfund site too from the old hegler/carus zinc plant

[@QAlba1074]

Wherever there is industry there is environmental destruction... you cannot keep a balance between two things when one destroys the other. Hundred years of industrial activity has destroyed what was created by nature in millions of years.

[@foreverfishingillinois815]

There's radium in the ground all over my Hometown here in Ottawa Illinois

[@Buckseed]

I can imagine...Libbey Owens Ford Glass Company released their water into retention land. That was common practice all over the United States. I worked in the Lathrop, CA Plant up into the 90s.

[@Arlatube]

Ottawa il. Timex watches that glowed on the dials. That was radioacrive paint. Also, i was told by locals...the pit. The people timwx had painting them, were short a few cells and would rub it on their teeth for jokes. In the dark it would glow.

[@spaceghost8995]

​@@Buckseed The current administration has already said they will relax all environmental regulations and defund whatever enforcement there is. This is what they are. Their cult leader has already made speeches about "how terrible and unfair mining regulations are." Well you simpletons who voted that way can just reap what you sew. That includes most of the toothless townies in that craphole Illinois town who voted for him.

[@ChrisHarden]

Made a video on Ottawa about 4 years ago. I've gained some video editing/making skills since then lol

[@foreverfishingillinois815]

@ChrisHarden I definitely watched it and yes you've came a far way man

[@1800imawake]

If corruption has a state of the art, Illinois is that state.

[@BarbaraLogsdon-h4z]

In the land where nothing gets accomplished, it’ll be a snowball day in hell before this toxic mess is ever dealt with. (I’m from Illinois).

[@Kpatton825]

We call it the stinkin Lincoln.

[@peteshallcross787]

Write the billionaire governor, he'll take care of it! 😄

[@pamkammann1176]

@@Kpatton825I’m in lyin Ryan hometown.. and dealt with on oil spill that contaminated our wells for years ..

[@paulw176]

don't worry Pritzker is all over this.

[@BarbaraLogsdon-h4z]

@ I hope so. The way other governors kicked the can down the road on this mess is appalling.

[@patrickmoss-j7c]

Another situation where the connected Illinois leaders are struggling with arithmetic

[@bretthousman8317]

While syphoning money off the tax cattle.

[@miniteabuds8562]

But they do know exactly how much they’ll need in taxpayers money to rinse so they can get that nice addition on their own home. At least Blagoevich tried to be discreet for a bit, now these days they’re straight blatant about it with no consequence. F these people.

[@TONYTHELANDSCAPER]

It's not Algae...it's Duck weed. It's a plant that doubles in mass every 48 hours. It is very beneficial in sequestration of toxins. It is also being used to create high quality protein supplements. Look it up. The reason the other lakes have little (or less) Duckweed has more to do with fish and wildlife that is present, whereas not so present in the toxic lakes. Also the inflow and outflow of those lakes has an effect, although not covered in this piece it would be worth a little research. Great work though! Lovin all of your videos, thanks for all your efforts!.

[@ChrisHarden]

Learning new things everyday, good catch

[@jstowell5]

Inflows and outflows are difficult to calculate considering flood events.

[@taxirob2248]

oxbow lakes are temporary by definition. Once they dry up they'll be easier to clean.

[@oscarurban7805]

Wow! Me and my wife had our anniversary trip close to Princeton and decided to visit each local town around there. And we visited Depue! That was only a few weeks ago. It's just crazy to visit the town and then see a video about it.

[@stephenbrand5661]

My grandmother lived in a small town in New Jersey, only 6 miles outside Manhattan. After she passed away and I moved into her house to get it up to code for sale, I did a little research and ended up finding evidence of at least 43 EPA Superfund sites in that one small town alone!

[@ChrisHarden]

Dang. Companies just didn’t know or care back then

[@FixIt1975]

@stephenbrand5661 Lemme guess, Secaucus? I live in south Jersey. I'm well aware of our dubious distinction of having the most Superfund sites in the country. I live only a few miles from the former Lipari Landfill in Gloucester County

[@stephenbrand5661]

@FixIt1975 Close, same county! Kearny

[@ImpetuouslyInsane]

​@@ChrisHardenDidn't? That implies they learned their lesson and stopped doing these practices. They still don't.

[@matildamarmaduke1096]

They knew ​@@ChrisHarden

[@teamflanneloutdoors5631]

Went through DePue a few times this spring. Moonscape right in the middle of town with smoke emitting from the earth. I asked a lady at the dollar store what was up with that, she says " I don't know what you're talking about" . Had to drive through again just to see it one more time.

[@kimlarso]

The smell in mid Summer 😢

[@freedomisfromtruth]

They dont live near the IL river they live by the river of Denial

[@suemar63]

I live an hour from there and had no idea. It's a shame--it's a beautiful area.

[@teamflanneloutdoors5631]

Yes it is. Except for that place.

[@ronald4700]

Toxic waste dump,this is whats left when corporate thugs leave!

[@joebutchko2223]

NJZ had a plant in Palmerton, PA. Back in the '50's they did something that killed EVERY tree within a 2 or 3 mi radius. All thru the '60's and '70's tha area around palmerton was barren, like a moon scape. Eventually, the soil was able to clense itself, and the forests returned.

[@kevinfreeman3098]

Cyanide pops into my head on this one...

[@craignovy2090]

Excellent and extremely thorough evaluation of what has befallen a relatively voiceless small community. On so many levels it is explained and illustrated as to the why, how and where this came to be. This needless ecological disaster did not just come out of the blue! A wake up call for everyone.

[@pamelasnow1004]

I was born and raised in DePue but left after I graduated college. I think Chris did a great job with this video He was looking at it from a very objective point of view and I think he covered a lot of information that is completely accurate. for clarification, EPA did take soil plugs from many many homes in the community to determine the levels of contaminants. The only thing I think that's missing from Chris's video, is the drastic health effects that this has had on the community. I would imagine anyone from this town could tell you of the immense high percentage of disease and sicknesses that people have. from all types of cancers to MS to various disorders caused by inflammatory issues. It is overwhelmingly high. And of course they are lifelong unless of course they cause you to pass away. thank you Chris for doing this and doing such a fine job in your research as well as your presentation!

[@ChavsADV]

Drive past that place few times a month. Thanks for shedding light on this subject. Worth looking a lot of the streams in these areas that are near farms and industrial areas. In IL these people have rights to discharge into our small streams and they are filled with discharge and chemicals from farms and manure etc…. It’s sad.

[@ncascadehiker]

I visited DePue a lot in the 80s. Other towns like Kewanee and Savana have a sad feeling because of industrial decline.

[@susanpulfrey1112]

It’s Savanna and it’s in Carroll County , Illinois the county that only had one Democratic candidate on our ballot and it was Harris. Guess we’re smarter than rest of Illinois. Our migrants are legal, we don’t do DEI but do personal responsibility. Proud to be from a county who judges people individually for their action versus group mentality. Leave that type of thinking to shitty cities. Proud of our employers in area which help to support our volunteer fire departments. 1 stop light in entire county and that’s for idiot tourists who don’t know how to drive.

[@brianmcintyre6407]

There are slag piles all up and down this corridor along the Illinois River. Chris, you can build a lifetime career reporting on these companies in that region. It's tragic that such beautiful country can be so heavily polluted. I'd start focusing on the Midewin Tallgrass Preserve off Lorenzo Rd on I-55. It looks like Mordor at night through that area.

[@Pineoilheavan]

Industrial waste product dumping ground. What a shame. I grew up near Frankfort & always heard rumblings about the area described in the comments.

[@bretthousman8317]

Wonderful job Chris. I've been through here, and all up and down the canals in the area. I was unaware of the toxicity of this lake and I'm a big local history and local nature buff. I hope your video helps raise awareness.

[@alenjones5606]

This happens everywhere in Illinois. I know of several oil well leaks and abandoned open oil wells. Farmers are just as bad. We used to catch fish in all the small creeks but those days are long since gone. Sad!

[@undefeated82]

You should come to the Michigan city of riverview. Can't even get it on the superfind list because it would cost too much to clean up. Land just sits there polluted, vacant, and fenced in. The Corp won't touch it. Cancer rates unexplained.

[@ChrisHarden]

I'll have to check that out

[@stixnatedogg]

CBS Corporation, now named Paramount Global, came to own part of the mine after inheriting it from its time as Viacom; in 1995, Viacom bought Paramount Communications, which was formerly named Gulf+Western, which bought the Paramount movie studio and New Jersey Zinc in 1966.

[@ChrisHarden]

First time I've seen a logical explanation for CBS' role in the whole deal. Tried looking it up based on the info you just gave and I still can't find anything that confirms it.

[@kickapootrackers7255]

There's no money in cleaning up😅. Its usually just relocated anyway. Toxic is a perfect description of our current state of affairs. Tya kindly

[@bretthousman8317]

it'd be better away from the lake that's right next to a major waterway.

[@QAlba1074]

Definition of cleaning in industrial society-- collect waste from one place and dump it in another place.

[@bretthousman8317]

@@QAlba1074 sometimes another place is much better than the one it's currently in.

[@QAlba1074]

@@bretthousman8317 That's not a solution

[@lumberhack2002]

It took so long for them to clean up the Love Canal and Seymour Disposal that I feel sad for your town. They need to research better ways that companies responsible can decontaminate toxic waste and catch the fumes. Those companies are reaping the profits, they should pay.

[@ChrisHarden]

Those companies are just taking as much time as they can through cycles of environmental studies. It has to be aggravating for the ppl here

[@KevinKimmich44024]

The Love Canal story is appalling... the managers who make decisions to save a few bucks by foisting problems off onto kids and their local school district never even faced mild criticism from their peers, community, or the government.

[@glenbard657]

I've been to DePue a few times when photographing trains on the Iowa Interstate Railroad. I remember a billboard by the slag pile that said something like "CBS/Viacom Clean Up Your Mess". Crazy that the area that is supposed cleaned up now has solar panels which will eventually leak more toxic chemicals. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a joke. Coal mines have retention ponds that are supposed to be cleaned up when the mine is closed, but they've let a lot of them in place. They're also letting a coal mining company in Southern Illinois pump huge volumes of high sulfate water into the Big Muddy River.

[@kevinfreeman3098]

"Illinois Department of No Responsibility"...

[@brokenh8911p]

There’s a lot of secrets out here at the lake of Egypt near Marion Illinois I’ve heard so much growing up how the water is so tainted but nothing gets done

[@Harold_Callahan]

Seeing a power plant right on the lake sure makes me wanna take a dip in the water...NOT.

[@EL-Ki-Yanas]

Have you heard anything about a pyramid being in that lake?

[@coasterenthusiast]

The US EPA is in charge of superfund sites not IEPA. Congress gave the authority to the EPA in 1980 through the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act or CERCLA. Congress needs to allocate more funds to help clean up all of these sites.

[@epsilonprotocol]

Good work.

[@ChrisHarden]

Thank you

[@breezyhillproductions349]

Cool. I'm glad to see some local stuff. I live in a town called La Moille. It's about 15 miles north of depue and contains about 800 people. Anyways, my uncle, his friends, and I went kayaking on the lake not too long ago. It was so shallow that every time we stuck our paddles in the water, we were hitting mud. Also, we could see the top fins of all the carp swimming by.

[@zachcoplin8735]

I live about 30ish miles away in streator and has no idea of this. We have an old fertilizer plant property that still has a giant pile of gypsum, right next to where our water comes. Look at it on a satellite view and you'll be able to see where it is in a heartbeat.

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

So basically a smaller version of Picher Oklahoma

[@kjan6742]

Exactly!

[@ChrisHarden]

Similar

[@SanFelipeCreek]

Yep 👍

[@zubiddydoodoopop]

The only thing that saved Rockford from ending up just like DePue is that they had one more aquifer that was left untapped when the bad news hit about their super fund sites. It still has the potential to get really bad because one of them is slowly leaking towards the Rock River. And of course the Illinois EPA and the corporations that made the mess initially are to blame, they won't do anything until it's too late when all the downstream counties and states start complaining about increased contaminates in their drinking water. The info I'm working with is years old since I took a geology course in college where I saw one of these sites in person so there's potential it may have improved, just don't bet on it

[@blazerdude89]

I live pretty close to rockford. This sounds like a major issue that should be addressed by the public. Obviously the EPA won't do shit.

[@BrandonSchumacher9519]

I live in La Moille, Illinois and know a few people from that area and never knew this was such a big problem. Thanks for the information I’ll have to send this to my sister that is currently working for the state epa.

[@pauljs75]

I'm surprised nobody has done any research on possible ways of processing that waste pile, because it sounds like that it consists of materials that would still be useful for modern battery and electronics production. Can they effectively be separated? Shame it can't be turned from a problem to something that could be sold off and pays for its own clean-up.

[@jasonruff6121]

Hey Chris, can you do a video of sheffield illinois. I would be willing to help??

[@ChrisHarden]

Email me! - Or dm on one of my other social media accounts

[@matildamarmaduke1096]

​@@ChrisHardenhey Chris can you do one on Asheville NC

[@notdavidbender]

My dad and grandad and great grandad lived there from the I'm guessing the 1910s-1950s. The dry goods store you mentioned was theirs. Joe Bender-Max Bender and my dad Sol.

[@P_Rund1952]

I went to high school between Spring Valley and Peru, and remember going to Depue for a basketball game. It was a strange feeling to look out the bus window at a glowing pile of what looked like gravel off to the side of the road. This was late 60's, large factory was still there, didn't have any idea of what was produced there. There were many slag piles on the area from old mines. We climbed some of them (Spring Valley, Dalzell) and saw many others in the area. It is depressing to return to the LAsalle-Peru area and see the decline over the years. The federal and state governments have abandoned any attempt to hold corporations responsible for the messes they create, and its going to get a lot worse with the incoming administration promising to remove regulations when the regulations were already totally inadequate.

[@nightmaster6381]

The current administration also did nothing to make it better and it ignored the majority of the demographic that lives in theese river valley areas and across the country who came out in bigger numbers to vote this time. Instead they focused on gender identity, abortion, Hispanic/Black/Female voters. I'm not saying the upcoming administration will fix anything either. I just refuse to let you try and blame a decades old problem on an administration that didnt exist when the administration you clearly prefer did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with their term.

[@bonzocleach2496]

@@nightmaster6381 Slow you roll nightmaster. It's true the Biden Administration didn't fix this problem. It's also true the incoming Trump Administration was in power from 2016 to 2020. Nothing was done then either. Why are you giving Trump a pass? You got butthurt and threw shade at P_Rund because that person dared throw a little criticism at your hero. You must have been thrilled when Trump let Rod Blagojevich out of prison early. Now Rod can run for Governor as a Republican and get your vote.

[@howiewarren243]

I ran a Schwan's home delivery route there a few years ago I always wondered what that residue I saw on the hills was .every one I serviced there was very nice . Terrible that they were treated that way.

[@christinesnyder6972]

I lived by the lake. I got cancer. My dad got cancer. My neighbor got cancer. My brother died from multiple sclerosis. Multiple people have died from MS in a town of 1,800

[@freedomisfromtruth]

From your list you just hit the best of the best. Thanks for putting yourself there since nobody else would.

[@MsLizard0001]

My family is from this town and I grew up spending weekends there and I remember my family members buying gallons of water to drink and cook with, and limiting our time in the shower due to the poison in the water and this was 40+ years ago.

[@Stopthismadnessnow-t4l]

Thank you for bringing awareness to this injustice.

[@matthewthebluey-brony-trai8006]

I heard about DePue Lake but never went there, though. Also I heard that DePue Lake is toxic, so I knew it was true

[@mikespillman3075]

Google maps hasnt even chosen to street view the town....sad.

[@ChrisHarden]

That’s why I’m here

[@juelix]

I love how closed captioning changed "Superfund site" to "super fun site." Way to change the meaning completely!

[@TrentonDominy]

My grandfather use to work for Exon mobile in Depue when he first moved to Spring Valley. If they can just get the old plant site cleaned up they could make a nice park and recreational space with a history of the area and the industrial history.

[@jondoes7836]

My great grandmother was born in DePue in 1917. My great great grandfather worked at the zinc smelting plant but he was fired for insubordination. He relocated the family to Chicago. Maybe him losing that job was a good thing overall?

[@markscott5421]

Wow another small town left to die by the state of Illinois. I wouldn't trust the state at all about the water testing..I would have moved out years ago and never looked back. For working the site for clean up this is taking way way too long and it looks like Illinois doesn't have the money to fix the problem. There latest financial reports seem to show the state is broke and it's going to get worse before it ever gets better. Great job on the video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@laurafoote214]

i lived here my whole life, and yes i never heard of this town, very interesting history.

[@sallysimpson7]

Just a random comment....what was the music at like 3:00? I really dug it.

[@berniemarkley]

I agree. It really fits the mood and theme of the video

[@danlowe8684]

It seems the solar scam is the new go-to answer for contaminated sites. I just read about a similar plan in Pittsburg's Swisshelm Park, an old slag dumping site that was planned to be remediated by a housing developer but now will be a solar farm instead.

[@nicholaslopez8830]

If your in the area 10miles east in Lasalle has a superfund site too, all the towns in the area are superfunds cause of all the mines just look for little mountains in the area

[@matildamarmaduke1096]

Coming to a town near you.foveenebt have plans for 49 states to be mined. They keep saying we have to have LITHIUM for car batteries QUARTZ for chips and phon

[@bigfrank3283]

we name all our parks after the assholes that did this....hegler/carus/matthiessen

[@adamtrombino106]

The IL EPA is nearly broke. There have been several independent water quality surveys done in various areas over the last 20 yrs that dispute the EPA numbers. In reality, the librarian is correct. If not for the proximity to the IL river, this town would be left to whatever nature wanted to do with the toxins. If not for said waste, DePue could be as nice as Princeton.

[@happy_dad4211]

The IEPA has plenty of funds coming in as fees but the corrupt nature of Illinois government allows EPA money to be swept into other budgets to be used for pet projects. This leaves little money to be used for inspections or to cleanup up downstate contamination.

[@oldrustycars]

How many complained about the solar farm? My guess is everyone in town.

[@benferracciolo6226]

Chris, I really enjoyed watching your video man!!! Keep up the hard work!! Thanks!

[@bigfrank3283]

the whole of Lasalle is a superfund site, and we named local and state parks after the people responsible (hegler/carus/matthesson) carus chemical still exists and they had an explosion and just a year or 2 ago and they never really explained what got blown all over the city.

[@rachelristau1685]

There is a civilian fighting for himself and his neighbors for Carus is his back yard. He was thrown out of the town's meetings cell phone confiscated and all.

[@jefryt67]

Hehehe I know that kid.

[@heatherhopfinger3942]

Chris go to sixth and West main The other super fund site Belleville Illinois

[@charlesharmon4926]

Chris, I follow your channel and I’m in Louisiana. I just got back from working in Illinois and stayed in Peoria for 2 months. I covered service calls along the Illinois and Des Plaines River and was dispatched up there in Peru 3 weeks ago. I appreciate the info.

[@kevinfreeman3098]

"Dead Plains River"

[@meanclak15]

Peoria here. I remember when this happened. It's incredibly sad

[@dianaverhulst3407]

In fact, in our opinion, Illinois is one of the most beautiful in terms of vistas. Have you been to the west side - the driftless region? Scales Mound? Galena? Ever driven through the small town of Mt. Carroll? Visited Lake Summerset ever? Oh and the views in Chicago are phenomenal. There is great beauty to behold in waving fields of tall corn and wheat in the summertime.

[@Harold_Callahan]

Oh yeah Chicago looks beautiful... from a distance. Drive through downtown and the surrounding areas and all you see is trash and badly repaired streets. It's 3rd world.

[@splice9503]

Corrupt. How does it feel to be an enabler?

[@ateam6486]

EPA is only allowed to test for things on the list that they are allowed to test for. Big companies pay EPA to keep their chemicals off that approved list,

[@michael.cschrubbe5879]

Bummer! The rich get richer! Only in America!

[@Tom-ic7hw]

one of the big reasons production in this country moved offshore

[@Keepit-qk3eg]

How can we sue these companies i live in depue how can we sue these companys and make them clean up

[@crzrck]

I spent 2 months delivering soil samples for testing from this town last year...

[@scottglover4025]

My guess is that the companies operating at these sites were likely in compliance with the laws that were on the books at that time. If so, it would not be likely or even fair to hold them responsible for prior lawful actions just because a need was seen for putting a more stringent law in place once the problem was recognized. I'm sure when the plants were running, most of the people's main concerns probably centered around the good jobs they had. The exposed slag piles need to have an impermeable plastic barrier put over them along with a layer of dense clay. This will prevent contaminated run off. There is no way you can prevent these ox-bow lakes from filling in. Essentially all ox-bow lakes fill in and become farm fields eventually. Your algae problem revolves around having shallow, warm water bodies that are revved up with some of the phosphates still hanging around from the fertilizer plant that had operated here. My advice would be to do what you can to prevent runoff, level the site as much as possible, and work with a major utility to cover the whole site with solar panels with the caveat that everyone living in the affected area receive free electricity for as long as the solar site is in operation. If you think the state of Illinois is going to put any money into cleaning up the mess you are living in dream land. The democrats running the state have committed all the taxpayers' money to buying municipal employee unions votes by supplying them with lucrative insurance and pension benefits, resulting in the state being roughly 200 billion in the hole. Fat ass Pritzker will never come and see your problem. He's too busy sitting in Chicago eating donuts.

[@bonzocleach2496]

Pritzker is fat. He is a Democrat. He and the Democrats aren't fixing anything. Now please tell me where are the Republicans. This mess has been going on under Jim Thompson (R), Jim Edgar (R), George Ryan (R), Rod Blagojevich (D), Pat Quinn (D), Bruce Rauner (R), and now Pritzker (D). Illinois would be under Republican control the very next election cycle if they provided a plan to fix the pension and deficit problem. They would take over Illinois if they could lower property tax significantly. Yet, somehow that never happens. It's way too easy to just point at Democrats. Republicans are in this too. The swamp is bipartisan. Why do you think Trump intervened to let convicted former corrupt Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich out of prison early?

[@robertduncan2742]

They care less about anyplace other than adding funds to their pockets. Top soil added to things never fixes its a bandage to cover but never does anything

[@michael.cschrubbe5879]

Too many band-aids and you get an infection and next thing you know your having lunch with God!

[@ryanstringsmith7844]

Check out Sheffield Illinois & the underground toxic waist dump there.

[@ryanmarshall7244]

I bought land in Depue 3 years ago. We hardly knew what happened. Luckily we're higher up in town and dont have any contaminated land. The town attempted to sue mobil, but they ran out of money.

[@ginadelsasso288]

There has to be a way to absorb the toxic metals through planting cat tails or some other kind of plant that cleans the water and soil. What about lavender? I know they use that to clean the land after a mountain is stripped for coal. That takes the heavy metals out of the soil and helps clean up these sites. No one eats the lavender, its used for perfumes or turned into fragrant oils.

[@Lee-qp6gf]

I would like to see an audit done on that site. You can bet it's a cash cow for someone.

[@patrickbateman7369]

The town was having boat races knowing that the lake was contaminated!!???

[@andrewstidham1599]

I’m from about an hour south down the river. While I want the lake to be restored we don’t want that crap down here. Like a lot of things in Illinois until someone comes up with a good budget friendly solution nothing will be done. Also a lot of folks choose to live in small towns like this because they like the slow pace, knowing their neighbors and the charm that comes with it. They don’t worry much about driving 45mi to the grocery store.

[@DanaBrady-h9m]

Would have guessed Dalton

[@jarretclark9924]

Bartonville Illinois next🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@splice9503]

The residents didn’t fight, they enabled. Fight for your communities. Take some pride

[@barryharms6716]

Planting hemp would help remove heavy metals in the soil. It would also be cost and time efficient.

[@jasonconrad5772]

South in Illinois, where I live, the water is also tainted. Excess nitrates from fertilizers and chemicals from pesticides and herbicides used in the pre-1990's.

[@AquaStockYT]

I'm an hour away, crazy to know it's so close yet so invisible

[@opp31337]

The EPA is probably hoping that the lake all dries up and things grow over it and hide all the toxicity under all that new growth.

[@frankfrosolonejr7010]

I do a lot of cleaning and maintenance for water plants here in illinois… what I will say is that municipalities have slowly done less and less maintenance over the years and then I learned that there is likely forever chemicals in every water source here in illinois… I learned that the house and senate can pull funding for water plant maintenance from all of us to do their own pet projects… hence why nothing has been done and nothing will get done till we fight back from these corporations killing us off all over a gross profit.

[@Truckngirl]

There's a LOT of gypsum stacks in IL. DePew didn't even come up in a search.

[@tristanabrams4556]

Everyone should email the EPA asking for statistics on their cleanup. This isnt just affecting DePue. This is affecting the entire ecosystem downstream too. This IS important. Contact your officials!

[@brandonsmith8166]

Slag is commonly used as the “chips” or “rocks” on oil and chip roads all throughout Illinois.

[@WORLD_NATURE_FAN]

It would be great to see you do videos of the Dallas suburbs, and North Texas towns.

[@7.3PSDA2]

Im from Illinois. Im 400 miles south of there... heard of it accually. never been there. but with pritsgrrrr as our "chief in command" i dont for see this getting cleaned with help from Illinois EPA its about as useless as well a blade of tall grass on mowing day. i think exxon moblie needs to be held accountable and i think this needs to be ramped up.

[@Userqwerty349]

Did this happen under Pritzker? No it didn't. The problem is local Republican politicians taking money from corporations to look the other way while they destroy everything, than walk away while counting their profits.

[@matildamarmaduke1096]

And what spread the love keep your toxic mess

[@Userqwerty349]

400 miles south of Depue? That's Tennessee.

[@7.3PSDA2]

@ No? you like everyone else who assumes Illinois is some tiny state need to look at a map. Altho i was off just a little... i google maps it. im approx 330 miles or 5 1/2 hours from there. i do apologize for miss leading in the original post. in between Paducah Kentucky and ST Louis Missouri.

[@7.3PSDA2]

@ Negitive.

[@jaxchristian6408]

Wilsonville il. Staunton IL the same. Toxic dump got buried years ago

[@joehutmacher3323]

Chris needs to take over the cleanup. He sounds like he has it all figured out.

[@ChrisHarden]

Find me $100 million and I’ll make it happen. It’ll make for a pretty good 2nd video too

[@AfroPlantGuy]

You must be one of the Exxon shareholders 😂, I stay in Illinois and never heard of this community before KZbin algorithm!

[@joehutmacher3323]

What do you propose? Dig a hole to put it in. I’m sure that would help.