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Although the current state action against the plant, which might result in a substantial fine, could be resolved as soon as <br />Nov. 20-the day this paper hits the streets-Cemex's worries are not over. Boulder Weekly has learned that the Mine <br />Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), a federal agency, has just launched its own investigation of the plant. <br />Boulder Weekly has had an exclusive visit with the Cemex insider and viewed the video footage. To help make sense of <br />this complicated situation, the paper has also spoken with neighbors, as well as an official representative of Cemex and <br />state and county officials in an attempt to understand what's going on at Cemex-and what's so upsetting about a little dust <br />in the wind. <br />In their backyard <br />Richard Cargill, executive director of the St. Vrain Valley Community Watchdogs, lives within sight of the Cemex factory, <br />which was then called Southdown. He and his wife moved into the area in 1997 and immediately realized they were facing <br />some kind of pollution problem. <br />"We were always coughing, and there was always white dust in the house and on our cars in the morning," Cargill says. <br />"It had a tendency to corrode our windshields and the finish on our paint. We didn't know what it was but we could see <br />these big plumes of dust coming from the cement factory. Sometimes you'd have white-outs." <br />Ken and Lou Dobbs, who live even closer to the cement plant, were also distressed by the conditions around them. They <br />had learned to keep their windows closed to keep fine white cement dust from getting into their home. Still, they were <br />concerned about what they were being asked to breathe. <br />Even if the dust was not toxic, they knew it was some kind of particulate pollution-small particles of solid matter that float <br />in the air and can be inhaled-and could therefore have an impact on their health. Particulate matter has been proven to <br />cause wheezing, exacerbate asthma and other lung problems, and has even been linked with premature aging of the <br />lungs and death. Cement dust, in particular, because it has a high pH, can cause chemical burns. <br />By this time, there was a small organizing effort underway in the neighborhood. When one of the key players decided to <br />sell her home and move to the Western Slope, she passed her files on to Cargill, who already had a history of <br />environmental activism. <br />"We formed the Watchdogs, and we began to pursue this through the regulatory agencies," Cargill says. <br />While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ultimate enforcement authority over water and air quality, <br />enforcement falls first to the county, then to the state. <br />The Watchdogs sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency. But the EPA wrote back to say the dust was <br />associated with "high-wind events" common in their area. <br />The activists didn't accept that as an answer, and by 1998, a concerted effort was underway to report dust plumes to the <br />Boulder County Health Department. County and state records document the many complaints that were called in by <br />2 <br />