NorthPoint Development is building a warehouse project on 4,000 acres not far from the existing 6,400-acre CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Will County. An analysis for the developer estimated that it would bring 1,300 new truck trips daily, and opponents think that will prove to be a huge undercount. Not everyone would risk immediate health effects like Papesh, but the brew of air pollutants from that level of truck traffic includes carcinogens, key ingredients for forming lung- and heart-damaging smog and tiny, toxic-studded particles that contribute to early death.
Illinois’ Will County has North America’s largest inland intermodal transport hub. Residents worry about more traffic and pollution from a huge new warehouse complex.
Dany Robles, legislative director at the Illinois Environmental Council, notes that tailpipes also pose a climate risk. Transportation is a growing source of greenhouse gases in the state, he said, and shifts in both warehousing and retail, including e-commerce, are fueling the increase.
Robles said that as consumer habits, like online shopping, have changed so has logistics. The emergence of even more warehousing as a way to accommodate the growth of e-commerce, comes with its own pollution and climate issues.
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