Bill Text: IL HR0412 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognizes the importance of utilizing experienced and highly trained workers for the operation of chemical and nuclear facilities that use, store, and produce radioactive or hazardous substances; condemns the actions of Honeywell International, Inc. with regard to the lockout of experienced workers at the Metropolis Works specialty chemicals facility in Metropolis and calls on Honeywell to promptly end its lockout; condemns the actions of Honeywell International, Inc. with regard to repeated instances of non-compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act; and urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and all relevant regulatory bodies to define clear jurisdiction over the Metropolis Works facility, and to conduct comprehensive and ongoing investigations, including full multi-media inspections, to ensure that the facility is operated safely and in compliance with federal regulations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HR0412 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HR0412-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is committed to maintaining | ||||||
3 | stringent standards for chemical and nuclear safety, and for | ||||||
4 | the protection of workers, residents, and the environment; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The Honeywell International, Inc. Metropolis | ||||||
6 | Works specialty chemicals facility in Metropolis is the only | ||||||
7 | uranium conversion facility in the United States, and the only | ||||||
8 | domestic producer of uranium hexafluoride, a key component in | ||||||
9 | nuclear fuel; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Environmental Protection Agency Enforcement and | ||||||
11 | Compliance records for the Honeywell International, Inc. site | ||||||
12 | in Metropolis reveal non-compliance with the Clean Water Act | ||||||
13 | during 10 of the last 12 quarters, non-compliance with the | ||||||
14 | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act during 12 of the last 12 | ||||||
15 | quarters, and non-compliance with the Clean Air Act during 6 of | ||||||
16 | the last 12 quarters; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. pleaded guilty in | ||||||
18 | federal district court on March 11, 2011 to one felony count of | ||||||
19 | knowingly storing hazardous and radioactive waste in | ||||||
20 | Metropolis without a permit and in violation of the Resource | ||||||
21 | Conversation and Recovery Act and was sentenced to a criminal | ||||||
22 | fine of $11.8 million and five years of probation; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency | ||||||
2 | has stated that "Honeywell must account for its knowing | ||||||
3 | violation of a federal law that protects the public from | ||||||
4 | exposure to hazardous waste containing radioactive material," | ||||||
5 | and that the company's illegal actions "put employees at risk | ||||||
6 | of exposure to radioactive and hazardous materials"; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reported | ||||||
8 | on March 14, 2011 that Honeywell International, Inc. has agreed | ||||||
9 | to pay a civil penalty of $690,000 to resolve a separate | ||||||
10 | lawsuit stemming from its illegal storage of thousands of drums | ||||||
11 | of radioactive and hazardous waste near Route 45 in Metropolis; | ||||||
12 | and
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13 | WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. reported on 2010 | ||||||
14 | Tier Two forms that its specialty chemicals facility in | ||||||
15 | Metropolis housed a daily average of 66,591,684 pounds of | ||||||
16 | substances classified by the company as immediate health | ||||||
17 | hazards, and 65,859,160 pounds of substances classified by the | ||||||
18 | company as chronic health hazards in the event of exposure; and
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19 | WHEREAS, These substances include daily averages of | ||||||
20 | 33,035,000 pounds of radioactive uranium ore and radioactive | ||||||
21 | uranium chemical compounds, as well as 2,094,000 pounds of | ||||||
22 | hydrogen fluoride, a chemical regulated as an Extremely |
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1 | Hazardous Substance under the Emergency Planning and Community | ||||||
2 | Right-to-Know Act; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. has estimated that | ||||||
4 | an accidental release of even a small portion of the hydrogen | ||||||
5 | fluoride stored at the site could catastrophically impact up to | ||||||
6 | 128,000 residents within a 25-mile radius of the Metropolis | ||||||
7 | Works site; and
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8 | WHEREAS, On June 28, 2010, Honeywell International, Inc. | ||||||
9 | locked out the experienced workforce that had been responsible | ||||||
10 | for handling these hazardous chemicals, despite workers | ||||||
11 | offering to remain on the job as contract negotiations | ||||||
12 | continued, and in September of 2010 hired temporary replacement | ||||||
13 | workers to resume operation of its uranium conversion facility; | ||||||
14 | and
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15 | WHEREAS, The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandated | ||||||
16 | that these temporary replacement workers be evaluated prior to | ||||||
17 | being allowed to operate the plant, and required that Honeywell | ||||||
18 | International, Inc. "ensure no coaching occurs during the | ||||||
19 | On-the-Job Evaluations (OJE)" and maintain "strict control" of | ||||||
20 | "written examinations, related answer keys, examination banks, | ||||||
21 | Job Performance Measures, and all other examination | ||||||
22 | instruments"; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. was cited by the | ||||||
2 | United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on November | ||||||
3 | 10, 2010 for violating the rule that expressly forbade coaching | ||||||
4 | when it, among other instances, "showed the candidate the | ||||||
5 | locations of several components when the candidate was unable | ||||||
6 | to locate them" and "helped the candidate follow the procedure | ||||||
7 | when the candidate became confused"; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. was cited by the NRC | ||||||
9 | for additional violations when it "failed to maintain strict | ||||||
10 | control over examination materials," allowed candidates "to | ||||||
11 | hear and listen to oral evaluation questions prior to their own | ||||||
12 | examination," and further permitted "a number of operator | ||||||
13 | candidates to observe another operator as he performed his OJE, | ||||||
14 | thus compromising the task performance portion of the OJE"; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Honeywell International, Inc. has admitted to at | ||||||
16 | least one release at the Metropolis site since its temporary | ||||||
17 | replacement workers began operating the facility, specifically | ||||||
18 | a release of hydrogen fluoride on December 22, 2010, which | ||||||
19 | lasted approximately two hours and triggered emergency sirens | ||||||
20 | and emergency mitigation systems; and
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21 | WHEREAS, The workers presently locked out by Honeywell | ||||||
22 | International, Inc. possess numerous years of experience and | ||||||
23 | training inside the Metropolis Works facility; therefore, be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
2 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
3 | we recognize the importance of utilizing experienced and highly | ||||||
4 | trained workers for the operation of chemical and nuclear | ||||||
5 | facilities that use, store, and produce radioactive or | ||||||
6 | hazardous substances; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That we condemn the actions of Honeywell | ||||||
8 | International, Inc. with regard to the lockout of experienced | ||||||
9 | workers at the Metropolis Works specialty chemicals facility in | ||||||
10 | Metropolis and calls on Honeywell to promptly end its lockout; | ||||||
11 | and be it further
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12 | RESOLVED, That we condemn the actions of Honeywell | ||||||
13 | International, Inc. with regard to repeated instances of | ||||||
14 | non-compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery | ||||||
15 | Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act; and be it | ||||||
16 | further
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17 | RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection | ||||||
18 | Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and all relevant | ||||||
19 | regulatory bodies to define clear jurisdiction over the | ||||||
20 | Metropolis Works facility, and to conduct comprehensive and | ||||||
21 | ongoing investigations, including full multi-media | ||||||
22 | inspections, to ensure that the facility is operated safely and |
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1 | in compliance with federal regulations; and be it further
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2 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
3 | delivered to United States President Barack Obama, members of | ||||||
4 | the Illinois Congressional Delegation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory | ||||||
5 | Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, U.S. EPA Administrator | ||||||
6 | Lisa Jackson, Honeywell International, Inc. CEO David Cote, and | ||||||
7 | Honeywell Metropolis Works Plant Manager Larry Smith.
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