H. Kramer and Company is a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ...

company located in the Pilsen neighborhood of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States.

Pollution concerns

The company has come under pressure from local neighborhood residents and the Illinois EPA for

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

pollution. In the March 2005, Pilsen residents began sampling the soil and found elevated levels of lead around the H. Kramer facility. EPA tests in June 2005 found lead on site at levels from 1,250 to 65,000

parts per million In science and engineering, the parts-per notation is a set of pseudo-units to describe small values of miscellaneous dimensionless quantities, e.g. mole fraction or mass fraction. Since these fractions are quantity-per-quantity measures, th ...

, and from 120 to 2,500 parts per million off site; with the highest levels more than twice the allowable level set by the US EPA for residential soil. In September 2005, H. Kramer voluntarily agreed to clean up two sites near its plant. In response Pilsen residents have organized a group called the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization (PERRO). H. Kramer was also in violation of discharging polluted effluents into the municipal sewage system.

References

Results
''On-site and Off-site Soil Sampling'', Illinois Environmental Protection Agency 2005
Stipulations
''In the matter of H. Cramer and Company'', United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
List published in the Chicago Tribune
of companies who are violating effluent standards, as well as those with exemplary compliance.

External links

Company website

Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization
Companies based in Chicago Companies based in Illinois Lower West Side, Chicago Metal companies based in Illinois Metal companies of the United States {{Chicago-stub