Coal dust requires action

Residents in Norfolk, Newport News are a lot more likely to suffer from respiratory woes

The huge piles of coal waiting to be shipped via rail in two Hampton Roads neighborhoods — Lamberts Point in Norfolk and the Southeast Community in Newport News — create dust that darkens cars and outdoor furniture and seeps inside buildings. Residents there are a lot more likely to suffer from asthma, and they may also be prone to other respiratory problems and even cancer.

So one wonders why it took so long for Virginia officials to conduct the first largescale study of how much and what kind of toxic metals are in the air in those communities. That said, it is encouraging that the state Department of Environmental Quality has received a $526,603 grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the air toxins for a year and assess the health risks in those two communities near the rail yards.

A study, however, is only a first step. It’s already clear there’s a problem. Quantifying that problem can be useful in figuring out how to make things cleaner and healthier.

But if the study is not a precursor to action, it will do little practical good. The people who live in Lamberts Point and the Southeast Community care a lot less about knowing exactly what’s causing breathing problems than they do about putting a stop to the dangerous pollution in both neighborhoods.

There have been some studies in the past. Norfolk Southern has done some limited monitoring that yielded no particularly disturbing results. The railroad also, over the years, has tried measures such as sprinkler systems and covers to reduce the coal dust. The problems persist, however.

DEQ wanted enough federal funds for a longer study, but the EPA grant will cover only a year. DEQ says it hopes to continue the efforts after that year runs out. That’s good, as long as officials keep in mind that the study itself is not the ultimate goal, just one step in the process.

The study will use monitors to detect tiny particles of nickel, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals in the air, along with monitors for larger particles from roads and construction sites.

The second part of the planned study, in which DEQ scientists will work with the state Department of Health to assess the effects of any particles on the health of people in the neighborhoods, gets more to the heart of the problem.

It’s that part that should lead, as quickly as possible, to actions to reduce any toxins that are causing health problems.

Fifteen years ago, a Peninsula Health District study found that people living in Newport News’ Southeast Community had asthma at rates more than twice the averages for the city and the state. At that time, although people who lived close to coal terminals had their suspicions, no direct correlation between the coal dust and asthma was proved.

Nobody has to do a study to prove that the unsightly mountains of coal and the dust that drifts everywhere make the Southeast Community and Lamberts Point neighborhoods not exactly desirable. Not surprisingly, the people who live there are primarily low on the income scale, and many are minorities. This is one of the persistent disparities in our society that help explain why minorities and lowincome people have a shorter life expectancy and more chronic health problems.

The federal grant for a yearlong study is a good start, but to make any difference it must be a step toward actions that will make a real difference in these neighborhoods. An immediate goal should be to devise ways to reduce the dust and any related health risks. Maybe proof that the dust is toxic as well as annoying will spur those actions.

On a broader scale, further information about the risks related to handling, shipping and burning large quantities of coal should be one more reason for the United States to step up efforts to transition to cleaner energy.