The steel dust that has been falling on Claymont for five years contains chemicals that are harmful to residents’ health, according to a scientific study spearheaded by residents and an international environmental advocacy organization.
The preliminary results of the study, overseen by Global Community Monitor, were released at a Nov. 15 meeting at Claymont Elementary School, attended by more than 70 residents.
The study found high levels of lead and manganese in the dust generated by the Evraz Claymont Steel plant on Philadelphia Pike. That dust frequently falls on homes near the plant.
“We think people have a right to know that this dust is potentially very hazardous to their health,” said Denny Larson, executive director of GCM. “It’s much more than just a nuisance.”
Long-term inhalation of manganese can affect a person’s nervous system, causing lethargy, loss of hand-eye coordination, tremors and psychological side affects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Exposure to lead can cause increased blood pressure, heart disease and decreased kidney function in adults and IQ loss and a damaged immune system in children, according to the EPA. Click here to download a copy of the study summary (Adobe Acrobat reader required.)
Residents have said that although the steel mill has been operating for more than a century, the volume of dust drastically increased in 2003, around the time the plant, then called City Steel, changed hands.
Since then, Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has ordered the company to clean up its act with a detailed plan containing structural and procedural changes. Some of the measures have been enacted, however, residents say the fixes haven't helped. Some lost faith in DNREC, and took matters into their own hands, procuring Claymont Steel funds for a DNREC-sanctioned, independent study.
Residents collected 42 samples of dust between July 25 and Oct. 3 using scientific monitors that function like a human lung, sucking in air and catching dust particles on filters that were sent to a lab and tested, explained Larson.
Eight samples exceeded EPA regulations for safe levels of manganese and four samples exceeded regulations for safe levels of lead, he said.
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Read previous stories about steel dust in Claymont |
Two samples also contained high levels of PM 2.5, which are tiny pieces of dust that become trapped in the lungs and cannot be exhaled. Inhaling PM 2.5 can cause heart attack, respiratory failure and premature death, Larson said.
Neither lead nor manganese cause cancer and none of the samples contained mercury, so there is some good news for residents, Larson said.
Most samples were collected from within a one-mile radius of the steel mill within the Analine Village and Knollwood communities.
Knollwood resident Tom Tucker told the Community News he is glad someone is finally doing something about the dust, which is practically a daily problem in his neighborhood.
“If the wind’s blowing right, the air is so nauseating you can’t breathe,” he said. “You might as well be walking into a dust cloud.”
One thing all the dust samples had in common was very high levels of iron, which is something used extensively in steel making, Larson said. Clearly, Evraz Claymont Steel is the source of the dust, he said, not the Sunoco plant a few miles up the road in Marcus Hook, Pa., as some have claimed.
Victor Clark, general manager of Evraz Claymont Steel, attended the meeting, but refused to answer residents’ questions about the dust.
Residents have long been awaiting the results of Evraz Claymont Steel’s own dust study, ordered by DNREC in 2005. The company has set up four dust monitors in Claymont, but no data has been released to the public yet.
The results are expected to be finalized after Thanksgiving, Clark told the Community News. Clark said the company will hold a public meeting after the New Year to discuss dust with residents.
“We’re committed to ensure the facility achieves compliance with all applicable standards,” he told the Community News.
Evraz Claymont Steel must be willing to work with the community and be a proactive part of the solution, Larson said.
“We want to come to the table and talk to Claymont Steel, but they’d better bring their checkbook,” he said.
A $50,000 grant from Evraz Claymont Steel funded the study, but Claymont Community Coalition President George Lossé said the community is demanding the company continue funding the residents’ study until the dust disappears.
Residents have every right to be concerned, but the potential health hazards of the dust have a greater effect on workers at the plant, said Brandywine Hundred resident Joan Hicks, whose son works for Claymont Steel.
“My son has a family. What would his family do without him?” she told the Community News. “What would I do without my son?”
Residents are demanding DNREC step up and do a better job enforcing its regulations, for the safety of residents and workers, and call on the EPA for additional support, Lossé said.
Even Vice President-Elect Joseph Biden, the former Claymonter, has weighed in on the lack of progress at the plant. He recently sent a letter to the EPA asking it to intervene, as the company has been slow to respond to DNREC's orders. Click here to download a copy of the letter. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
DNREC officials have said the dust poses no health hazards to residents.
James Brunswick, DNREC's community ombudsman who was instrumental in getting the study off the ground, attended the meeting, but refused to comment about specifics of the results.
“Global Community Monitor has a real history of producing valid information and they have demonstrated it time and time again,” he told the Community News after the meeting.
There is enough money for about 30 more tests, said Claymont resident Jeanette Matinas. The residents plan to actively seek continued funding to keep the study going.
“I resent that the community has to take action that the government agencies should have,” she said. “I think we have a long road ahead.”
It may be a long road until the dust is gone, but getting the results was half the battle, said Claymont resident Dee Whildin.
She has been scraping steel dust off her car since 2003 and led the charge to set up the study to see if that dust could be harmful to her health.
“Having an answer is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” she said. “But I just want the dust to be gone.”
