UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 5 77 WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60604 SUBJECT: CLEAN AIR ACT INSPECTION REPORT Metal Management Midwest, Inc., Chicago, Illinois FROM: Karina Kuc, Environmental Engineer AECAB (IL/IN) THRU: Nathan Frank, Section Supervisor AECAB (IL/IN) TO: File Basic Information Facility Name: Metal Management Midwest, Inc. doing business as Sims Facility Location: 2500 S Paulina St, Chicago, IL 60608 Date of Inspection: February 6, 2023 EPA Inspector(s): 1. Karina Kuc, Environmental Engineer Other Attendees: 1. Deborah Hays, EHS Partner, Sims 2. Chris Daniels, EHS Specialist, Sims 3. SamFlores, Shredder Manager, Sims Contact Email Address: Debbie.Havs@simsmm.com Purpose of Inspection: to follow up on a scrap pile fire that occurred on February 4, 2023 Facility Type: metal shredding, recycling and shipping Arrival Time: 1:00 PM Departure Time: 1:30 PM ------- Inspection Type: M Unannounced Inspection ~ Announced Inspection Opening Conference M Presented Credentials M Stated authority and purpose of inspection ~ Provided Small Business Resource Information Sheet M Small Business Resource Information Sheet not provided. Reason: previously provided M Provided CBI warning to facility The following information was obtained verbally from Sims representatives unless otherwise noted. Process Description: Metal Management Midwest, Inc., doing business as Sims (Sims), purchases and shreds scrap metal, then sorts and ships the final product. Most scrap, purchased from industrial suppliers, conies in by truck, is weighed and inspected. Sims also accepts scrap metal from peddlers. Non-conforming objects such as gas cylinders, are pulled out. Staff Interview: On Saturday, February 4, 2023, Sims opened and accepted material until noon. Later, maintenance employees were doing regular maintenance and noticed the light iron scrap pile was smoking. They called the fire department and started pouring water on the pile. The fire department arrived within four minutes and poured water on the pile for about 20 minutes. Once it was safe to do so, Sims started pulling the scrap pile apart into smaller piles to make sure the fire was out. The fire department left by 6:20 PM. The fire department retuned on Sunday to make sure the fire was put out. On Monday, February 6, a Sims employee came in at 3:30 AM and, unrelated to the shredder or operations, his car somehow caught fire. The fire department arrived, and it was put out. Sims sorts light iron scrap into a separate pile from vehicles, as such no vehicles were involved in the fire. Sims suspects that the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery, as is often the case at scrapyards, but doubts they will be able to confirm it. Sims previously installed three thermal cameras that can detect heat in the scrap pile. The thermal cameras are not yet operational. Unrelated to the fire, the shredder has been down since Friday, February 3. Tour Information EPA Tour of the Facility: Yes Data Collected and Observations: EPA observed the scrap pile that burned. Some charred metal was observed in the pile. No smoke or odors were observed. As a part of monitoring required by the EPA, Sims was monitoring particulate matter at five monitors during the fire. Page 2 of 4 ------- however, no volatile organic compound (VOC) or metal filter samples were scheduled during that time. The east air monitoring station was placed on an elevated platform as EPA had previously requested. Photos and/or Videos: were taken during the inspection. Field Measurements: were not taken during this inspection. Closing Conference M Provided U.S. EPA point of contact to the facility Requested documents: • Particulate matter monitoring results February 4, 5, and 6 Digital Signatures KARINA Report Author: KUC Digitally signed by KARINA KUC Date: 2023.02.10 16:17:47 -06'00' Section Supervisor: Frank, Nathan Digitally signed by Frank, Nathan Date: 2023.02.10 16:38:53 -06'00' Page 3 of 4 ------- Facility Name: Metal Management Midwest, Inc. Facility Location: 2500 South Paulina Street, Chicago, Illinois 60608 Date of Inspection: February 6, 2023 Appendices and Attachments Appendix A - Digital Image Log Page 4 of 4 ------- Facility Name: Metal Management Midwest, Inc. Facility Location: 2500 South Paulina Street, Chicago, Illinois 60608 Date of Inspection: February 6, 2023 Appendix A: Digital Image Log 1. Inspector Name: Karina Kuc 2. Archival Record Location: Region 5 Electronic Records Center Image Number File Name *Date and Time (Central Time) Description of Image 1 IMG_2470.JPG 2023:02:06 13:08 Scrap pile from the west 2 IMG_2471.JPG 2023:02:06 13:16 East air monitoring station on elevated platform 3 1MG_2472.JPG 2023:02:06 13:17 Scrap pile from the east 4 1MG_2473.JPG 2023:02:06 13:19 Scrap pile from the north 5 1MG_2474.JPG 2023:02:06 13:20 Scrap pile from the north 6 1MG_2475.JPG 2023:02:06 13:22 Scrap pile from the northwest 7 1MG_2476.JPG 2023:02:06 13:22 Scrap pile from the northwest 8 1MG_2477.JPG 2023:02:06 13:23 Scrap pile from the west Appendices Page 1 of 1 ------- |