Boro looks into black dust in steel mill area
Company says new action plan will address pollution concerns
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

SAYREVILLE - Borough officials recently toured the Gerdau Ameristeel in light of concerns that emissions from the mill are affecting nearby residential properties.

Ronald Green, vice chairman of the borough Environmental Commission, said he and others observed the mill's operations on March 24 and saw the slag pile and "black dust" that residents are concerned about.

"We saw everything you people were talking about," Green told residents at a commission meeting last week.

Green said mill representatives assured them that the oldest slag pile on the site, dubbed the "legacy pile," is going to be eliminated by the end of the year. This slag pile has been at the site, uncovered, for 30 years.

"We believe that the slag pile is one of the main culprits," Green said of the black material that residents say accumulates on their homes and vehicles.

Several residents of Wilber Terrace, Modzelewski Terrace and other residential streets near the steel mill, have been complaining about black material that accumulates on their properties. The residents, along with the Environmental Commission and Edison Wetlands Association, say that the steel mill on North Crossman Road is the likely source of the pollution.

Representatives from Gerdau Ameristeel have proposed a plan of action in response to the concerns, and Rey S. Morales, an environmental manager who has been with the plant for two months, handed out copies of that plan at last week's commission meeting.

"We are here to help [and] to hear your concerns, which we are already aware of, and it is good that we are here, so we can listen and address the problem," Morales said.

"We will address the problem," he added.

However, the mill has not taken responsibility for the material that residents are finding on their property.

"We are not saying that it is from the steel mill," Morales said.

Ameristeel hired an independent contracting company to conduct an analysis of the steel slag on its site, Morales said. Testing began April 10, and the mill will forward the

test results to the Environmental Commission within two weeks, he said.

The black dust material collected by Wilber Terrace resident Timothy Eppinger and tested last month by Edison Wetlands Association and CME Engineering, was found to contain iron, lead, mercury, arsenic and other toxic materials.

Green said he wants to run the test again, with only the professionals from CME Engineering and a representative of the commission to confirm the validity of the sample.

Eppinger told the commission last week that the situation has not improved since Ameristeel representatives first met with the commission in February to hear the concerns of residents.

"My car right now is covered with the material," Eppinger said, adding that he found metal flakes in the piles of dust he collected. He said that the dust is causing the paint to peel off his vehicle.

Eppinger also said he is concerned about dermal contact with the material that could allow it to get into his system, since he has to clean his property frequently.

Ann Mazanec, also of Wilber Terrace, said the dust regularly covers her window sills and those of her neighbors, as well as their vinyl siding, patios and driveways. She added that it is the likely reason for the paint peeling off her patio furniture and may be affecting herbs and plants that she grows in her garden.

"My home and my property are basically blasted with this dirt and dust," Mazanec said.

Noise and smoke have gotten worse in the area as well, she said.

The mill is planning to install an air-monitoring system at two locations around the plant to determine the source of the emissions, Morales said. These bulky systems need to be fenced in and run constantly, he added. The monitoring project is costly, Morales said, and will require Ameristeel to go out for bid.

Regarding the source of the material, Morales said there are other sources of emissions in the area where the dust particulate may be coming from, including manufacturing plants, smoke stacks and major highway networks.

However, Borough Engineer David Samuel has said that the wind direction indicates that the source of the emissions is the steel mill.

In response to the mill's assertion that another potential source of the pollution is the nearby Middlesex County Utilities Authority facility, Green said that the MCUA does not have an incinerator in the area.

Environmental Commission member Kenneth Olchaskey said the problems that residents are having are characteristic of those that Ameristeel has had with their other operations across the country.

Green advised the steel mill to look at similar problems with its plants in Delaware and Kentucky for solutions. He added that the company went to court over violations at those sites and was given heavy fines as a result.

Morales responded that it is normal for a steel mill to generate some level of noise and dust.

"It's part of the industry," he said.

While these problems are fairly common, Morales said, they can be remedied through proper controls and insulation of equipment. Ameristeel recently built a new building on-site to steam clean equipment inside a structure rather than outdoors, he added.

"That is the reason why we brought this action plan, and I assure you that the management is totally committed to addressing the problem," Morales said.

In regard to springs and wetlands located in the area of the mill, Paul Eisen, a consultant to Gerdau Ameristeel and principal scientist for Roux Associates Inc., said there are catch basins and stormwater collection systems to prevent the mill's emissions from impacting local water quality.

Edison Wetlands Association released documents to the Suburban listing 144 violations found by the state Department of Environmental Protection at the mill over the past seven years, including citations for discharges into the air and water on the site.

Morales said the company's stormwater prevention plan is designed to minimize water contamination.

"Only after the water has been cleaned do we discharge," he said.

Ernie Read, of Wilber Terrace, said during the meeting that he has lived near the mill with his wife, Shirley, since 1975. He said black dust collects at the bottom of his swimming pool on a regular basis. He added that he would like to see the steel mill test samples off-site, not just on its property, and called on Ameristeel to act quickly to address these issues.

"For years the steel mill was a good neighbor, but for the past 18 months to two years, it almost seems bipolar," Read said. "Conditions are horrible."