Lethal Coal Ash or Petcoke - Oxbow Corporation, Lemont, IL

Oxbow Corporation

Illegal Coal Ash or Petcoke

Lethal, No Respirator, Not Sprayed Down

My Father-in-law died 7 weeks later from the day he worked at Oxbow!

Christmas is coming in less than 9 days.  My father-in-law has been deceased now over 3 years.  Since then he has missed his 50th Wedding Anniversary, his first 2 great grandchildren births, missed the graduations of several of his grandchildren, and is terribly missed by his family.

John worked at Oxbow for just a couple of days.  He had been out of work and was desperate to work ANY job.  He was a special certified Heavy Equipment Operator that had had a couple of accidents, very small. One was a slight misjudgement of his own and the other was totally set up by a disgruntled fellow worker.

I believe he was bulldozing Petcoke.  As written on Priceofoil.org:

Now, other than being shady, what kind of business is Oxbow in, you might ask?  Well, it’s about as dirty as it gets. Oxbow hails itself as “the largest distributor of petroleum coke in the world with annual shipments of nearly 11 million tons.”

What is this petroleum coke (or “petcoke”) that Oxbow is distributing all around the world?  Petcoke is a byproduct produced through the oil refining process that is coal-like in composition, yet dirtier and more carbon heavy than coal. In other words, when you refine really dirty oil such as tar sands oil (aka bitumen), what’s left over is petcoke. And it’s extremely dirty.

As the tar sands industry in Alberta, Canada has heated up in recent years, many citizens, communities, and advocacy groups have raised strong concerns about the intensive nature of its extraction and the dirty oil that comes from the tar sands.  Tar sands extraction is destroying huge swaths of pristine and sacred land, and the oil that is produced from the tar sands is as dirty as it gets.  Meanwhile communities in both Canada and the United States are standing up to try to stop the transport of dirty tar sands oil through their backyards and waterways.

But that’s actually only part of the tar sands story – with tar sands oil also comes petcoke, and this stuff is ugly. When it is burned in power plants or factories, it emits 38% more carbon by weight than conventional coal and significantly more toxic pollutants as well.  Essentially, wherever petcoke is used as fuel it generally is making a dirty process even dirtier.  And Oxbow makes its millions in moving this dirty fuel around the world.

Aside from dealing in dirty fuels, Oxbow also deals in dirty politics as well.According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Oxbow and its executives have contributed over $3 million this election season – the second most of any energy company, more than $1 million more than even Exxon.  Add that to the $1.6 million in lobbying this Congress, and Oxbow is clearly one of the Beltway heavyweights buying votes and favors left and right.

John nor any of us knew that when he accepted the job of loading all that coal ash or petcoke those couple of days that basically he was signing his death certificate.  That by working there he would have less than 8 weeks to live.

John came home after loading the coal ash and was very tired.  He had told his wife of 49 years that he was not required to wear any safety regulator and any specialized clothing.  His machine also did not have any enclosed cab.  He loaded the ash onto the train cars all day with the wind blowing the lethal ash into his face.  John also stated that the ash was very very fine and silvery and that it hadn't been hosed down which is required by law.  He came home that evening coated in a fine black dust that was everywhere.

The next morning he wakes up and he has horrible red rashes all over his body and he is itching everywhere.  He sees the doctor.  His doctor says he is probably allergic to something.... Within the next 12 days he is on a ventilator.  Within 7 weeks from the day he worked at Oxbow, John took his last breath.

The hospital first said that he has COPD.  Nope, that is not right, it is Emphysema.  Oops wrong again, it is actually a very rare, rare Cancer that John has only obtained within the last 3 months!!  

We had looked up John's symptoms the first day he was hospitalized.  With all the enlarged glands, rash, itching, age, etc we came up with "Chronic Beryllium Poisoning".  We begged the hospital to do a Toxicity Test on John.  They did not, would not listen to us.  Had they listened he might still be here today.  Unfortunately, COPD is easily recognized by Insurance Groups where lethal Coal Ash is not.

During John's decline he had maybe 10 good days, that of which his son was able to spend time with him.  My husband spent days and nights at the hospital with his father.  Looking back, we are so very greatful for that time.  One week he brought one of our daughters, the next week the second daughter.  Our youngest daughter was next to go visit with Grandpa but never made it as John had passed away only 15 minutes after eating his last ice cream cone.  

Petcoke, it is thought from the Oxbow Corporation, killed John quickly.  John had a challenged immune system for smoking on and off throughout his life.  He was 67 years old.  Other people that obtain employment from Oxbow Corporation are much younger with much better immune systems.  

These younger kids won't die instantly or within weeks.  More like years.  What they don't know is when they get hired they are literally signing their life away.  What took John 7 weeks to kill him will take 10 to 20 years to kill the healthier employees.

I am writing this in Honor of my Father-in-law, John.  With Christmas coming I can think of nothing better to do than to Honor him and also help save others.

John did not die for no reason.  I truly believe that God took John to help others that are being killed day after day working with the lethal Coal Ash.  That John will have died a Martyr.

The day of the funeral we were at the burial site.  I had buried my brother, grandparents, cousins, lots of aunts and uncles, so I wasn't totally new to the whole death thing.  But for the first time ever and I mean ever, I left the grave site of someone I knew and loved and felt that this was all terribly WRONG!  I envisioned reaching down into the open grave and helping John out as it was so wrong.  That thought has stayed with me ever since.

This is for all of those who are losing a family member or loved one or for those who are trying to get answers.  The internet is a wonderful thing especially when finding and linking Poisonous Substances to Companies.  I had went on Google and typed in Oxbow and deaths but only found where they are under extreme scrutiny for their Lethal Operations.

Now OUR STORY is heard!
We miss you John Sr!! <3 b="">

Thank you Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, we pray lives will be saved through the loss of John Thomas Long, Sr.