|
I~usi-up az ~vuznwvwn
<br />by Jeremy Breningstall
<br />even residents of the S[. Vrain river Nigh horse Campbell's office submitted an emissions and diesel hocks are alto very much
<br />valley looked wes[ and saw which way inquiry to the EPA regarding Southdown's apart of the problem, throwing carcinogens
<br />the wind was blowing: in their faces dos[ problem. "It's interes[ing to us tha[ into the air. And with more new housing
<br />and full of dust. In response, they have farmed Southdown passes all the inspections set by construction being initiated every day, the
<br />an organization called the $t. Vrain Valley stale officials, but some of [hese ait pollution quantity of vehicular traffic is only likely to
<br />Community Wa[chdogs, tha[ aims to improve concerns fall through the cracks;' says Cargill. increase. "Right now, there isn't any way,
<br />the area's air quality Already [hey have taken However, Southdown thus far has proved when you measure the air, to identify where
<br />two companies [o task and the group is now [o be accommodating in responding to ci[i- the particles come from;' he says.
<br />poised to expand is ae[iviries zen's grievances. "We In team of dealing wi[h industrial facili-
<br />and become afull-Bedged ~
<br />The want to be good neigh-
<br />number Of ties themselves, part of the problem is simply
<br />gnssroos environmennl open- bons, and if we have insuring tha[ there is adequa[e monitoring
<br />lion. problems we want to being done in [he firs[ place. Gobi Hoetler, an
<br />Trouble came to their hospital admissions solve them;' says Steve Environmental Health Specialist a[ the
<br />at[ention when Western Mossberg, the facility Boulder County Health Department, points
<br />Mobile sought a permit Cora ~ compliance manager a[ out that even if they're given a call, inspec[on
<br />30-year gavel operation earlier . dad people admitted the plan[. The comps- can only respond during business hours. Even
<br />this year. While the area where ray's vice-president of [heri, they may be busy with other calls.
<br />Highways 36 and 66 converge environmental affairs Of Southdown, Hoefler says, "! don't
<br />has historically been a cen[er to emergency rooms was flown in from know tha[ they necessarilyignored anything.
<br />for digging operations, Western Houston to confer. A I['s jus[ tha[ over the years [the dos[ has]
<br />Mobile's plans to mine 600 dust management plan become a problem." According to guidelines,
<br />acres of nearby land left resi- with reSpiratOry was proposed. A new dust shouldn'[ be going off property, and
<br />dents wary. Locals wanted "to gravel pit would be shouldn i be over 20 percent opacity (Opacity
<br />eliminate most of the damage ~ ilrOillem5 Correlate built, along with a measures the amount of light that is blocked
<br />tha[ might occur if the mining _ 560,000 sprinkler sys- out.)
<br />was done haphazardly;' says tem. The dust in the Sidna Leavenworth says of the St. Vrain
<br />Leslie Goodwin, an antitjue with the number Of Ptt would be watered Valley group, "We are very for[una[e to~have
<br />dealer and member of the down in order [o create some real expertise on this commit[ee. We
<br />group's newly formed steering a crust. Trucks would have a chemical environmentalist, a radiolo-
<br />committee. particles in the air." be cleansed in compy- gist, a consulting geologist chat is quite
<br />There was concern abou[ ante with regula[ory knowledgeable about raining, and a retircd
<br />the number of truck trips that snndards before leaving environmennl activist. Residents in
<br />would be going [hrough, the -Df. M.W. RPyIlOIdS the facility Hygiene fought the same type of problems
<br />days and hours of operation, "They claimed all in 1982. Citizens were not as aware of [he
<br />and [he effect mining would along that they were danger, and [hey did no[ receive much
<br />have on the local habi[at. planning to close that cooperation."
<br />Traffic, safety, and animal life could all be pit June 26;' says Goodwin. "We'll never Goodwin says, "These companies are
<br />effected by excessive reclamation. So over 120 know if tha[ cuss the case, quite frankly." But often only inspet[ed once or twice a year, and
<br />citizens showed up for three hearings before she has few complains about the way things they're not surprise inspections, so they're
<br />the county commissioners. are going. She describes it as "a very satisfying allowed to get ready for it. It's not black and
<br />Of the approved permit, Goodwin says, example of how business and citizens could white, so it's not cleat to us what it means to
<br />"By speaking up we felt like we had a lot of cooperate for the overall benefit of all." comply with the EPA requiremens and with
<br />our needs met. We didn't get everything we Alice Platt echoes tha[ sentiment. "I feel the Colorado Department of Health rtquire-
<br />wanted. We compromised and they compro- like Southdown has actually been trying to mens:'
<br />~
<br />mised:' work with the community, as has Boulder The group's next several tasks will include
<br />With six years remaining before Western County." studying these regulations, and usessing [he
<br />Mobile starts mining, the neighborhood Cargill says, "Therei still more [o do. We impac[ of dust on plant workers. "We're not
<br />group was considering its options. It was still have dtst storms fiom Southdown at least antagonistic to anybody;' says Goodwyn,
<br />around this time that Richard Cargill, a once or twice a week. And some of [hose "We're not going [o chain ourselves to old
<br />re¢red ecologist, began to notice a lo[ of da}'s storms are the result of poor housekeeping forest trees or anything eke. We just wan[ to
<br />when white dust would film up into the air, down there:' have a say in what's going on in our neighbor-
<br />leaving it opaque. Cargill traced the fugitive "The number of hospinl admissions and hoods. One thing 1 learned about going to
<br />dust to the Southdown Lyons cement plant. people admitted to emergency rooms with [hese commissioners' meetings is tltry're no[
<br />"He brough[ it up to the neighbors and respiratory problers correla[e wi[h the nom- always aware of what's going on in their com-
<br />we [houghr maybe there's a problem here that bet of particles in the air;' says Dr. M.W. munities. If [hey don't hear feedback firm cit-
<br />nobody knows about," says Goodwin. Rtynolds, a re[ired radiologist who lives in izens, how are they going to know what's
<br />Cement kiln dust, a was[e byproduc[ of the area. ~ going [o happen to citizets?"
<br />Southdown's operation, was blowing in[o [he Reynolds tiles a recent American Lung Reynolds says of Southdown's effor[s
<br />community and in[o people's homes via an Association report which found that 48 per- to improve based on citizens' concerns:
<br />uncovered (and nearly full) pit. And [rucks cent of [he people in Boulder County already "We didn't take [hat and go away. We told
<br />chat should've been washed off were not, the have some form of lung dysfunction, pu[ting them we appreciated their effor[s, but that
<br />neighbors found. Pictures were taken and _ them at grea[er risk for lung disease. "The we were going [o keep watching and when
<br />-~.....i,........r.P {iced wkh rhr county and incidens of childhood asthma are increuing we saw something tha[ didn't look righ[
<br />
|