Chemetco

Chemetco
Company type	Private
Industry	Copper refining, Recycling
Founded	June 9, 1969; 57 years ago in Illinois, United States
Founder	Denis L. Feron (former owner and CEO)
Defunct	November 1, 2001
Fate	Filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after federal conviction and environmental penalties
Headquarters	Hartford, United States
Area served	United States, Canada
Key people	Denis L. Feron (former CEO)
Products	Copper anodes (~98% purity), copper cathodes (formerly 99.98% purity)
Number of employees	200 (circa 1980) (1980)

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Chemetco, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 25 July 2025

Chemetco was once recognized as one of the leading U.S. copper refiners specializing in recycled and residual materials, achieving an annual production peak of 120,000 tons—accounting for roughly fifty percent of the nation's recycled copper output. In 1999, the company reported estimated revenues of $500 million and was listed as the 23rd-largest privately owned firm in the United States by 2000.

Based in Hartford, Illinois, Chemetco operated predominantly within the recycling sector under the leadership of its former owner and CEO, Denis L. Feron. Despite its substantial market presence and expansion, the company consistently struggled with environmental regulatory compliance. Ultimately, it was found guilty of federal water pollution offenses that extended over a ten-year period. After ceasing operations, the former Chemetco facility was designated a Superfund site on the National Priorities List due to contamination issues.

History

Originally established on June 9, 1969, as Chemico Metals Corporation in Illinois, the company incorporated in Delaware on March 23, 1970. It adopted the name Chemetco in 1973. By 1980, its workforce numbered approximately 200 employees, and by 2000 it was affiliated with the St Louis Minority Business Council.

On November 13, 2001, following a federal conviction and imposition of a $3.86 million penalty for environmental infractions, Chemetco filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Both the company and former CEO Denis L. Feron faced felony allegations including conspiracy and breaches of the Clean Water Act. The plant was shut down on November 1, 2001, with the EPA sealing the site to conduct health hazard evaluations.

Location

The Chemetco facility is situated within a floodplain adjacent to the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois—approximately one mile south of Hartford and about half a mile northwest of Mitchell. The Lewis and Clark State Memorial Park is visible from this location.

Positioned atop an aquifer that supplies water to nearby communities such as Edwardsville, Hartford, Roxana, and Wood River, operations were confined to a 41-acre parcel. Additional farmland was acquired to settle disputes with neighboring agricultural landowners.

Local water features include the Mississippi River, Cahokia Canal, and Long Lake—all located within one mile of the site—supporting both local wells and recreational fishing activities.

Production

Under the management of Denis L. Feron, Chemetco emerged as a significant manufacturer of high-purity copper derived from secondary sources including recycled and residual feedstock. These raw materials were primarily sourced from wholesalers and company-owned warehouses distributed across the United States and Canada, facilitating localized grading prior to refining.

The company produced copper anodes with approximately 98% purity as an intermediate product. Initially, Chemetco performed electrolysis internally to convert these anodes into copper cathodes of 99.98% purity but later discontinued in-house electrolysis operations, opting instead to sell their anodes—each weighing —to Asarco.

Refining process

Copper-containing materials were smelted into a product known as "black copper," which included impurities such as lead, tin, and zinc. This intermediate was then refined using oxygen to achieve about 98% pure copper while generating zinc oxide residues and slag containing heavy metals.

Chemetco recovered "zinc oxide" from furnace gases through scrubber systems; however, these residues also contained contaminants like lead and cadmium. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) noted persistent challenges related to waste handling and highlighted Chemetco’s reluctance to fully acknowledge its waste management issues:

"Chemetco's promotional materials emphasized recycling efforts and claimed no waste discharge; nevertheless, their processes produced significant residues that were stored with minimal containment safeguards."

Prosecution and conviction

On September 18, 1996, an Illinois EPA inspector uncovered a hidden pipe discharging hazardous waste from Chemetco's refinery into a lake connected to the Mississippi River. Further inquiry revealed that this pipe had been in operation for a decade, releasing toxic substances such as zinc oxide, lead, cadmium, and other harmful contaminants into surrounding wetlands at dangerous concentrations.

Evidence showed that waste was expelled through this pipe as often as 330 days annually, with at least thirteen employees involved in its use. Moreover, during rainfall events—occurring 948 times over ten years—contaminated stormwater was automatically pumped into the lake, resulting in substantial volumes of polluted water being released.

Chemetco actively impeded the investigation by providing false information. The court characterized the company's actions as "willful and egregious."

On December 12, 2008, former president Denis L. Feron was added to the EPA's most wanted list after fleeing the United States prior to trial. He subsequently paid $500,000 in restitution, which led to the dismissal of charges against him.

Air-borne dioxin production

Research conducted by the Centre for the Biology of Natural Systems (CBNS) at Queens College, CUNY, ranked Chemetco among the top ten sources contributing to dioxin deposition at eight land receptor sites in Nunavut out of 44,000 U.S. emitters. The study emphasized Nunavut’s susceptibility to long-distance dioxin transport despite lacking local emission sources and noted elevated dioxin levels found in Inuit mothers’ breast milk due to traditional dietary habits.

The refining operations at Chemetco released airborne dioxins primarily from processing coated wire—including PVC-insulated wire—plastics, and electronic components incorporated into scrap copper feedstock. An EPA report referenced studies showing that chlorinated plastics within copper scrap enhance the formation of dioxins and furans during smelting.

Following concerns regarding dioxin contamination linked to materials processed by Chemetco, the EPA analyzed zinc oxide collected from the plant’s venturi scrubber system in 1987 and detected dioxin concentrations of 3.4 parts per billion. This raised toxicological alarms about sediment and fish populations in Long Lake.

Nevertheless, a joint 1999 investigation by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and EPA found no elevated levels of pesticides, PCBs, dioxins, or furans in fish samples taken near the discharge location. These results, combined with CBNS findings, suggest that Chemetco’s dioxin emissions were mainly discharged through smokestack (flue gas stack) emissions rather than contaminating adjacent water bodies.

Other known environmental problems

Chemetco maintained a record of environmental violations. During August and September of 1992, the company was caught using trucks and water sprinklers to disrupt air emission monitoring systems, thereby breaching the Clean Air Act. At one point, Chemetco ranked as the largest source of atmospheric lead emissions in the United States.

In 1999, the federal government initiated a civil lawsuit under the Clean Air Act which resulted in Chemetco paying a fine of $305,267 and agreeing to implement a Continuous Particulate Mass Monitor System as part of injunctive relief measures.

The electrolytic refining process used by Chemetco to produce high-purity cathodes required substantial quantities of sulfuric acid, occasionally emitting visible "acid mist" onto adjacent farmland. This method generated acidic waste capable of dissolving heavy metals and thereby increasing environmental contamination risks:

"…a 1983 Illinois EPA memorandum documented releases from the strong-acid electrolytic bath. Sampling revealed liquids exhibiting either low pH (acidic) or very high pH (caustic), possibly reflecting attempts at neutralization. Acidic conditions enhance metal solubility and mobility."

Furthermore, hazardous halogenated solvents were utilized onsite for cleaning machinery.

Site Remediation

More than three years after the concealed pipe was discovered, Chemetco had still not submitted an officially sanctioned cleanup strategy for the polluted location.

Once Chemetco ceased operations, the area was secured and remediation efforts commenced; however, progress remained sluggish and incomplete even several years afterward. In 2005, the Illinois EPA official who initially found the pipe estimated that full remediation might require approximately two decades.

In 2006, a Canadian company proposed recovering valuable metals such as copper, zinc, tin, lead, and aluminum from the onsite waste materials. Their proposal included an investment of roughly $10 million to install necessary equipment and an additional $3 million for further cleanup activities. The plan involved Chemetco’s estate managing the facility and receiving royalty payments. The Illinois EPA endorsed this initiative, which would leave behind non-recyclable residues on site. If authorized, the operation was projected to span about ten years.

Designation as a Superfund Site

On March 4, 2010, the Chemetco property was officially listed on the Superfund National Priorities List due to contamination involving lead, cadmium, and zinc that impacted both the site and adjacent wetlands. The bankruptcy of Chemetco combined with limited state financial resources required federal intervention to secure cleanup funding under CERCLA.

Currently, the U.S. EPA is responsible for overseeing remediation activities and has identified potentially responsible parties (PRPs) accountable for environmental liabilities. In November 2011, EPA issued formal notifications to these PRPs and began negotiating agreements to conduct a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS). This investigation aims to delineate contamination levels and propose long-term remediation strategies. Upon completion of the RI/FS, EPA will select a cleanup remedy with input from the affected community.

Impact on the Copper Industry

A metals industry trade publication remarked that "The closure of Chemetco Inc.’s secondary smelter in Hartford, Illinois in 2001 marked the conclusion of large-scale secondary copper smelting operations within the United States."

Brian Taylor, writing for Recycling Today in 2007, highlighted that

".. in its 2006 Federal Register report on National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), the U.S. EPA states, 'The secondary copper smelting facilities that served as the basis for emissions calculations have all ceased operations, and no comparable secondary copper smelters have been built since.'"

Taylor also noted that Chemetco was among five smelting plants used by EPA to develop its regulations. The others included Cerro Copper Products in Sauget, Illinois; Franklin Smelting in Philadelphia; Gaston Recycling Industries in Gaston, South Carolina; and Southwire Co.’s plant in Carrollton, Georgia.

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