Port Authority right to see if land is usable

The Lorain Port Authority’s use of federal environmental study funds for an examination of the site of the former Brush Beryllium is needed to discover what actually is under the ground and whether the land can be used for future development.

Results from the study will determine if there is poison under the surface of the cityowned land north of Hamilton Avenue and First Street.

If the land is safe, imagine the possibilities for the land near the Black River and Lake Erie.

The prospects for new stores, restaurants or residential buildings can spark excitement on Lorain’s waterfront.

The former Brush Beryllium metal processing plant was part of the home front as the United States and its allies fought in World War II.

Lighter than aluminum and stiffer than steel, beryllium was regarded as a miracle metal during the war and in the nuclear era afterward.

However, the metal dust had potentially deadly effects on workers, including those living in Lorain.

When Brush Beryllium burned Sept. 21, 1948, at the time, it was the largest fire in Lorain’s history.

And now 70 years later, no one is clear about what remains underground.

That’s why it’s vital for the Port Authority to conduct this study.

John Wargo, a Lorain resident and former Lorain Port Authority board member and a regular attendee at Lorain City Council meetings, has called for more public attention to the Brush Beryllium site.

Wargo says the property is the number one priority for the waterfront, and officials should start now to get the site “shovel-ready.”

Port Executive Director Tom Brown and Economic Development Specialist Tiffany McClelland said the Port has completed the first part of the study, known as a Phase 1 assessment.

The first part of the study is a historic survey, but does not include any groundwork.

It recommended further study, known as a Phase 2 assessment, which is typical for any site that had the presence of chemicals in its history.

And based on the results, the Port or the city could apply for grants to pay for environmental cleanup.

McClelland said the work is necessary, because if a business wants to build on the site, any bank or lender will want to know what the land was used for before committing any money for a project.

But the Port won’t know until the site is cleaned up.

Through the 1940s and early 1950s, it became clear the beryllium was having ill effects on the health of workers in Lorain.

Dr. Joseph M. DeNardi of Lorain was among the Cleveland-area physicians who began studying its effects on workers who had repeated exposure to beryllium.

In 1953, DeNardi co-authored a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that listed effects of the disease berylliosis on 468 patients since 1940.

DeNardi treated at least 500 people for berylliosis, according to a 1986 news report.

Also in 1986, Basel Haag, who worked at Brush Beryllium before and after his military service in World War II, described the effects of the exposure in a Morning Journal article.

Haag, then 69, said his eyes would swell shut as though they were stung by bees.

He also said by Thursday, they’d be red and swollen and partially shut, and by Friday, there was just a tiny slit in his eyes where he could see out of.

But over the weekend, Haag said it would clear up, and he’d start work all over again.

The effects continued into the 2000s, with a number of former workers or their family members describing the longterm health problems caused by exposure to beryllium in the 1940s.

When the plant burned down Sept. 21, 1948, then-Lorain fire Chief Elmer Stough said he could not rule on the cause because the evidence was destroyed.

The cause of the fire was thought to be a spill of molten beryllium nickel that was being poured at the plant.

The Journal headline read “Fire wrecks Brush Beryllium plant; loss set at $350,000.”

Brush Beryllium planned to rebuild, but public debate started immediately about the location of the metal processor next to the city waterworks and the potential health effects on neighbors.

A Sept. 27, 1948, Journal report said the Ohio Department of Health directed a survey of Lorainites, including X-ray exams of about 10,000 city residents.

And the Brush Beryllium waterfront plant never was rebuilt.

Now, the Port Authority is exploring whether that site can be used again.

If it can, it has the potential to be a great boon to Lorain’s economy.