Testing of dust samples near steel plant to begin Resident: Neighborhood continues to experience 'black dust' problem BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Ron Green SAYREVILLE - Testing is expected to begin next week on "black dust" material found on residential properties in a borough neighborhood. The testing of samples from homes near the Gerdau Ameristeel plant was supposed to begin earlier this month but was delayed due to contractual issues. "I'm still waiting for the samples to be taken," said Ronald Green, vice chairman of the borough's Environmental Commission. The steel mill has agreed to pay for its own tests as well as the municipality's, by two separate firms that are approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection. "I really wanted [the testing] to get done this week," Green said Monday. "Right now the testing is holding us up. I really need to get this testing done so we can find out what's going on." The environmental watchdog group Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) previously had samples of the black dust tested by Chapin Engineering, which found it was an iron-based compound containing mercury, arsenic, zinc, lead and nickel. Sayreville Business Administrator Jeffrey Bertrand said officials were meeting with Gerdau Ameristeel this week to confirm the locations where samples will be collected and when that will be done. The two tests, costing the steel mill a total of approximately $8,000, will likely begin in early August, he confirmed. A meeting was being scheduled at the Sayreville Senior Center next month to release the results of the testing, but that meeting has since been canceled. Gerdau Ameristeel representatives are expected to attend the Environmental Commission's Aug. 6 meeting at borough hall, Green said. "They are going to come to all of the meetings from now on," Green said. The commission sent a letter to the Borough Council requesting that a borough attorney be present at all of its meetings to answer questions. "The reason we did that is sometimes people ask questions and we don't have the answers for them," Green said. "We say that we'll get back to you, but that takes too long. We want to move on with this." Last month, the borough shut down a slag-related business operating on the Gerdau Ameristeel site. International Mill Service (IMS) Inc., was closed however due to lack of a business license, and not due to the allegations that dust emissions are landing on nearby properties. IMS, which rented space from Gerdau Ameristeel since 2000, had been operating without a license since 2003, according to Bertrand. Pat Boccassini, a resident of Modzelewski Terrace, which is near the steel mill, said she has not noticed a significant difference since the shutdown of IMS. "I am not noticing a lot of difference," Boccassini said. "The noise is still there. I don't think that most of the noise was coming from [IMS]." She said she still finds black dust on her property and it remains a problem throughout her neighborhood. "It's still all over the shutters of my house," Boccassini said. "They're stained. I had lawn furniture that I have thrown away due to the rusty sediment all over it." Boccassini said all she wants is for the mill to comply with all regulations. "Any measure that is taken is good though," she said. "Anything that the borough can do to protect the citizens is always a good step, and for myself, I don't really want to see the steel mill close down. They employ a lot of people and they pay taxes. I just want them to comply with regulations that everyone else has to." Gerdau Ameristeel, whose plant has operated in the borough for more than 30 years, has not taken responsibility for the black dust material, but agreed to investigate the matter. "We cannot know the origin or composition of the reported dust until an evaluation has been conducted," Gerdau general manager Mark Quiring wrote in a March letter to the Suburban. "Gerdau Ameristeel is continuing to work cooperatively with the Sayreville Environmental Commission and its neighbors to resolve this issue. We are part of this community and take our role as a neighbor to heart." Quiring said the firm was implementing enhanced environmental controls to reduce dust emissions. The efforts, he said, included additional material handling dust controls, a significant reduction in the amount of materials stored outside, increased use of water sprays and sweeping, on-site speed controls, and tree- and shrub-planting initiatives.