Testing of 'black dust' comes up inconclusive BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer SAYREVILLE - Tests of the "black dust" material collected from residential properties near a steel mill have come up inconclusive. An independent scientific consultant is performing an assessment on the laboratory test results, and should complete that study by next week, said Steven Ross, spokesman for Gerdau Ameristeel, North Crossman Road, which funded the testing and hired the consultant. Ross said the steel mill will hold a community information session to release the findings soon. "The basic issue is that the metals that are being looked for are present in building materials," Ross said. "You know [that] chromium, mercury, lead, zinc are all ingredients in paint and other construction materials. … Some of these materials, when they degrade, release these metals. It is not possible to determine where these metals that were found came from." Ross said the "wipe test" was of some benefit and is another step in the process. The scientist's review of the wipe samples so far indicates that there is currently no cause for alarm. More definitive information will be available when air monitoring is done, he added. Borough Business Administrator Jeff Bertrand said the test results did not indicate a health risk to neighbors of the steel mill. "We frankly don't see any environmental risk," Bertrand said, "especially considering the outcome of the test." Bertrand said the wipe samples, which were taken in August at more than a dozen homes, might have picked up metals from the surfaces that were wiped. "Levels between different wipe samples differed greatly," Bertrand said. "They could have been affected by the surface they were on." The impact that various surfaces may have had on the samples has created a dilemma that has led to the delay in releasing the test results, Bertrand said. In light of this, the borough's engineering company, CME Associates, and the steel mill agreed that the best way to determine the content of the material and where it is coming from is through air monitoring. Individual property owners have authorized the mill to hire professionals to power wash their homes in order to remove the dust material. While officials did not see this as the only step the mill should take, Bertrand said they believe it is a demonstration of the mill's commitment to the neighborhood. The grassroots environmental group Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) criticized the mill and the Sayreville Environmental Commission for the delay in releasing the test results. EWA Executive Director Robert Spiegel said the mill and the borough should make the results available to residents as soon as possible. "If the tests were run in August using competent technicians and certified labs, there's no legitimate reason why they wouldn't have had the results within a few weeks," Spiegel said. The group also raised concerns about power washing, which the EWA said could put children at risk. "Power washing will take all of the contaminated dust off the houses and concentrate it in the soil and yards where children play," Richard Chapin, of Chapin Engineering, which on behalf of EWA conducted an earlier round of tests on dust samples collected by property owners. Though borough officials said those test results could not be verified, Chapin determined that the dust contained high levels of mercury, arsenic, chromium and lead. Bertrand said the latest round of test results have made this issue more of an aesthetic concern than a health-related matter. Power washing is part of the mill's effort to address the issues with the material, the source of which has not been scientifically proven yet, he added. "The borough would certainly not say OK to power washing if it put anybody at risk," Bertrand said. He said power wash companies are required to contain run-off materials in order to prevent environmental issues. Regarding the materials' content, he said, "We don't see a health concern from the information we have. There is an aesthetic concern." Environmental Commission Chairman Pat Walsh, who lives in the neighborhood next to the steel mill, said that he had his home power washed and it removed much of the black dust material from the surfaces of his property. "You can really tell a big difference on the sidewalks and patios," Walsh said. "Most of the people are very happy with the power wash." He noted that professionals from the mill's company and from the borough agreed it was safe to power wash. Area resident Timothy Eppinger, who started a grassroots group called Residents for a Clean Sayreville, said that while the dust material runs off when it rains, the power washing is increasing the amount of runoff. "The black dust material is being removed from houses and it is being washed into the soil, and nobody knows what this material is," Eppinger said. "And that could be a problem once this material is identified." Ross said the power washing was done as a goodwill gesture to the borough and the mill's neighbors, who requested the service. He added that the mill sent letters to neighbors notifying them that Gerdau will pay to have their homes power washed if they would like to take advantage of the offer. "We don't think that there are any issues involved with doing the power washing and we certainly don't think it involves any health risks to anyone," Ross said. Ross said that any community might encounter problems with building materials such as paint chipping off the siding of a home while it is being power washed. Eppinger said he is not convinced that there are no health concerns with regard to the dust. "It's turning the concrete black," Eppinger said. "I feel there is some kind of collusion here as far as what the results are, because paint doesn't just peal off for no reason."