NORFOLK -- Ever since Michael Beane moved into his home in Norfolk's historic Ghent neighborhood about 20 years ago, there's been a problem with sitting out on his coveted second-floor porch.
"It's covered in coal dust. I'll clean it off and within a week it's completely covered again. My window sills are completely black on the side of my house facing the railroad tracks," Beane said.
"It's everywhere. I've been breathing it for almost 20 years. That's the biggest concern."
Beane was among a group of concerned residents and an environmental group on Friday that called for Norfolk Southern to take measures to keep coal dust from its trains and expansive, 400-acre coal terminal from spreading into nearby neighborhoods. About one-third of the nation's coal is exported out of Norfolk Southern's Lambert's Point Coal Terminal on the Elizabeth River, just south of Old Dominion University. The terminal is the largest coal loading facility in the Northern Hemisphere and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Residents in neighborhoods near the terminal have long complained about the black soot that sometimes covers their homes and cars. On Friday, the Sierra Club presented a scientific report it commissioned illustrating that dust samples taken from five homes have high levels of coal-like particles in them. The Oregon-based lab found coal-like particles comprised between 20 percent and 70 percent of the dust collected, depending upon the home.
"Coal dust presents a clear and present danger to human and environmental health," said Joe Cook, chairman of the Sierra Club Chesapeake Bay group.
Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay said in an email that the company had not had an opportunity to review the methodology in the report. Still, Terpay noted that the company had taken "many voluntary dust suppression steps over the past 30 years to be an environmentally responsible neighbor."
"Norfolk Southern conducts air monitoring at Lamberts Point, and the data shows that the dust level from our operations in 2014 continues to be dramatically below state and federal requirements set by the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards," Terpay wrote.
Cook said coal contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other heavy metals that can contribute to a number of diseases. Over an extended period, he said exposure to coal dust presents a significant threat. The current pier at Lambert's Point has been in use since 1962, pre-dating the 1970s Clean Air Act.
Cook is petitioning Norfolk Southern to enclose the conveyers, dumpers and chutes used to move coal at the terminal, as well as cover coal cars. He estimated that it would cost about $50 million to take the measures his group is seeking.
