Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR0211
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Full Text of SR0211  97th General Assembly

SR0211 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is committed to maintaining
3stringent standards for chemical and nuclear safety, and for
4the protection of workers, residents, and the environment; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Honeywell International, Inc. Metropolis
6Works specialty chemicals facility in Metropolis is the only
7uranium conversion facility in the United States, and the only
8domestic producer of uranium hexafluoride, a key component in
9nuclear fuel; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Environmental Protection Agency Enforcement and
11Compliance records for the Honeywell International, Inc. site
12in Metropolis reveal non-compliance with the Clean Water Act
13during 10 of the last 12 quarters, non-compliance with the
14Resource Conservation and Recovery Act during 12 of the last 12
15quarters, and non-compliance with the Clean Air Act during 6 of
16the last 12 quarters; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. pleaded guilty in
18federal district court on March 11, 2011 to one felony count of
19knowingly storing hazardous and radioactive waste in
20Metropolis without a permit and in violation of the Resource
21Conversation and Recovery Act and was sentenced to a criminal
22fine of $11.8 million and five years of probation; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency
2has stated that "Honeywell must account for its knowing
3violation of a federal law that protects the public from
4exposure to hazardous waste containing radioactive material,"
5and that the company's illegal actions "put employees at risk
6of exposure to radioactive and hazardous materials"; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reported
8on March 14, 2011 that Honeywell International, Inc. has agreed
9to pay a civil penalty of $690,000 to resolve a separate
10lawsuit stemming from its illegal storage of thousands of drums
11of radioactive and hazardous waste near Route 45 in Metropolis;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. reported on 2010
14Tier Two forms that its specialty chemicals facility in
15Metropolis housed a daily average of 66,591,684 pounds of
16substances classified by the company as immediate health
17hazards, and 65,859,160 pounds of substances classified by the
18company as chronic health hazards in the event of exposure; and
 
19    WHEREAS, These substances include daily averages of
2033,035,000 pounds of radioactive uranium ore and radioactive
21uranium chemical compounds, as well as 2,094,000 pounds of
22hydrogen fluoride, a chemical regulated as an Extremely

 

 

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1Hazardous Substance under the Emergency Planning and Community
2Right-to-Know Act; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. has estimated that
4an accidental release of even a small portion of the hydrogen
5fluoride stored at the site could catastrophically impact up to
6128,000 residents within a 25-mile radius of the Metropolis
7Works site; and
 
8    WHEREAS, On June 28, 2010, Honeywell International, Inc.
9locked out the experienced workforce that had been responsible
10for handling these hazardous chemicals, despite workers
11offering to remain on the job as contract negotiations
12continued, and in September of 2010 hired temporary replacement
13workers to resume operation of its uranium conversion facility;
14and
 
15    WHEREAS, The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandated
16that these temporary replacement workers be evaluated prior to
17being allowed to operate the plant, and required that Honeywell
18International, Inc. "ensure no coaching occurs during the
19On-the-Job Evaluations (OJE)" and maintain "strict control" of
20"written examinations, related answer keys, examination banks,
21Job Performance Measures, and all other examination
22instruments"; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. was cited by the
2United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on November
310, 2010 for violating the rule that expressly forbade coaching
4when it, among other instances, "showed the candidate the
5locations of several components when the candidate was unable
6to locate them" and "helped the candidate follow the procedure
7when the candidate became confused"; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. was cited by the NRC
9for additional violations when it "failed to maintain strict
10control over examination materials," allowed candidates "to
11hear and listen to oral evaluation questions prior to their own
12examination," and further permitted "a number of operator
13candidates to observe another operator as he performed his OJE,
14thus compromising the task performance portion of the OJE"; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. has admitted to at
16least one release at the Metropolis site since its temporary
17replacement workers began operating the facility, specifically
18a release of hydrogen fluoride on December 22, 2010, which
19lasted approximately two hours and triggered emergency sirens
20and emergency mitigation systems; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The workers presently locked out by Honeywell
22International, Inc. possess numerous years of experience and
23training inside the Metropolis Works facility; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the
3importance of utilizing experienced and highly trained workers
4for the operation of chemical and nuclear facilities that use,
5store, and produce radioactive or hazardous substances; and be
6it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That we condemn the actions of Honeywell
8International, Inc. with regard to the lockout of experienced
9workers at the Metropolis Works specialty chemicals facility in
10Metropolis and calls on Honeywell to promptly end its lockout;
11and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That we condemn the actions of Honeywell
13International, Inc. with regard to repeated instances of
14non-compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery
15Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act; and be it
16further
 
17    RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection
18Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and all relevant
19regulatory bodies to define clear jurisdiction over the
20Metropolis Works facility, and to conduct comprehensive and
21ongoing investigations, including full multi-media
22inspections, to ensure that the facility is operated safely and

 

 

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1in compliance with federal regulations; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
3delivered to United States President Barack Obama, members of
4the Illinois Congressional Delegation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
5Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, U.S. EPA Administrator
6Lisa Jackson, Honeywell International, Inc. CEO David Cote, and
7Honeywell Metropolis Works Plant Manager Larry Smith.