Environment & Health News
The new MAT Asphalt plant at 4010 S. Damen Ave. is set to begin making asphalt within a couple weeks, and plant operators, community members and elected officials are scrambling to coordinate and communicate what the new business means for the neighborhood.
In an interview and plant tour, MAT Asphalt owner Michael Tadin Jr. provided details about manufacturing operations and how the plant fits into his related, nearby businesses. He also addressed concerns about air pollution, the top issue raised by community members at recent meetings of the McKinley Park Civic Association.
"Emissions are minimal because of the positive capture system on newly designed plants," Tadin said. He noted that that MAT Asphalt has installed all-new, next-generation equipment and that emissions from contemporary hot-mix asphalt plants are much less than many other industries. "It's less emissIons than a bakery," he said.
Read more: Asphalt Manufacturer, Community Members Engage Concerns and Plans Around New Plant
A standing-room-only crowd filled the McKinley Park Civic Association meeting on Wednesday, April 4, with most of the meeting focused on the new MAT Asphalt plant preparing to open for business at 4010 S. Damen Ave., Chicago.
Representatives from the 12th Ward office included Samie Martinez, who spoke about the asphalt plant project and fielded questions from the audience, gathered in the meeting room at the McKinley Park branch of the Chicago Public Library.
Read more: Civic Assocation Meeting Focuses on Asphalt Plant
As part of the City of Chicago's initiative to expand natural areas to 2,020 acres by the year 2020, McKinley Park is getting a big makeover on its eastern edge. Native plants, with animals following, will fill five acres, quintupling the natural area that currently only hugs the lagoon.
The McKinley Park Advisory Council is spearheading efforts toward stewardship and fund-raising for the new natural area, including the National Recreation and Park Association's Meet Me at the Park Earth Month campaign. In April, fans of McKinley Park can submit a vote each day for the new natural area, with the winner receiving $20,000 in funding. Click here to vote for McKinley Park's natural area project.
Read more: McKinley Park Growing Natural Area; Community Help Needed for Contest, Planting Day
MAT Asphalt LLC is set to begin large-scale production of asphalt this spring with a new facility in the Central Manufacturing District at 4010 S. Damen Ave., Chicago. The business, sited off the southern border of the McKinley Park neighborhood a block south of the intersection of Pershing Road and southbound Damen Avenue, is permitted to produce up to 890,000 tons of asphalt per year, according to a construction permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The move of the plant into the neighborhood has received the support of 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas, who noted both that this is a permitted use for this designated manufacturing area and that environmental concerns are mitigated through full compliance with clean air laws and the use of new equipment employing the latest, cleanest technologies.
2 commentsRead more: Asphalt Plant to Begin Production This Spring in Central Manufacturing District
Data on teen substance abuse is one of the most useful tools for evaluating usage and the effectiveness of programs to combat it, and the McKinley Park Underage Drinking & Other Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (McK-UDOS) is pushing forward with assisting rollout of the 2018 Illinois Youth Survey.
At its meeting on Thursday, March 22, at its sponsor, the Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA), the coalition highlighted plans to help implement the school-conducted survey and noted the usefulness of its results. "It's difficult to find local data for substance abuse," said MAHA Executive Director Dr. Hong Liu.
Read more: Youth Anti-Substance Abuse Coalition Presses Forward with Outreach, Data Survey
