BLACK DUST NIGHTMARE
Residents’ daily misery of fallout from steelworks
THESE are the pictures that show the appalling, dust-covered conditions people living in and around Port Talbot are putting up with this sum- mer.
Thick black dust from the steelworks is covering people’s houses, cars and even pets and children – and many householders say the heatwave has made the problem worse.
Owner Tata admits it has seen an increase in the number of complaints.
And Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is demanding Tata takes immediate action.
Meanwhile, families in the Margam and Taibach areas are having to clean their homes almost constantly to keep the dust, which is a by-product from the town’s steel plant, at bay.
Kayleigh Humphries, who lives in the town close to the steelworks, says dust remains a real concern for her family.
“I can’t open my patio doors. If I open the windows I’ve got to accept my furniture and window sills will get thick black dust all over them.
“I’ve had to purchase a vax carpet cleaner as my carpets are so black it’s causing our feet to get black stains on them,” she said.
The 32-year-old said she hates her daughters playing in the garden because they get so black from dust.
She said: “I literally have to use a nail brush to scrub them afterwards. And of course the toys and furniture are filthy.
“I’ve never moaned about the steelworks before, a small amount of dust is expected but this is something else and a cause for concern.
“With cleaning I am fighting a losing battle.”
“Myself and my daughters suffer with respiratory issues. We recently went abroad and I didn’t even need inhalers or tablets.
“But as soon as we get home we have chest infections straight away.”
In 2013, Tata Steel officials brought in an £800,000 wheel-wash system for giant dumper trucks in an attempt to solve the problem of “black dust” fall-out from the plant.
The firm said the current extended period of dry weather has made effective improvements to the dust challenging.
Louise Lowry lives in Margam and says the topic of dust is something everyone in the town is talking about.
“All my life I’ve lived in different parts of the town. I used to live in Cwmafan and it’s never been as bad as what it is in Margam,” she said. “There’s always been a certain level of dust; the level is so high it’s ridiculous, everyone in Margam is talking about it.”
The 47-year-old care officer says she is worried about her health.
She said: “I clean the house then within a couple of hours it’s black again, I’ve got asthma and I’m allergic to dust anyway so I’m always going around with wet wipes and they are black all the time.”
Louise Davies lives in Taibach with her husband Derwyn.
She said: “We know we are living in an industrial area, but we have no furniture in the garden, we have given up. I used to have a lovely bench, but you have to power wash it all the time to clean it.
“If you want your cars to stay clean you would have to wash them every day.
“The dogs bring dirty paw prints into the house, you have to wash the floors three times a day.”
Paul Gibson, Industry Regulation Team Leader for NRW, said: “The frequency and amount of pollution we have observed in the area has been unacceptable.
“Tata Steel is an important part of this community and we want to ensure it operates to the highest standards to protect local people and the environment.
“We have discussed these issues with Tata Steel and we expect them to be fully committed to taking action to address our concerns and those of their local community.”
A Tata Steel spokesman said: “There has been an increased level of complaints from our neighbouring community. We continue to invest in reducing emissions from our processes and from dust lift-off at our Port Talbot site.
“The unprecedented extended period of dry weather has, however, made effective improvements extremely challenging and has been a key factor in increasing the amount of dust seen in the locality. Reducing emissions, however, remains a key area of focus for us. We have significantly increased dust suppression mechanisms on our site to counter the effect of the conditions and we are working closely with Natural Resources Wales.”