Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The most definitive evidence so far was presented this week to a special grand jury investigating Roanoke Electric Steel and Howard Brothers Inc.
Bob Saunders, Roanoke field manager of the state Department of Environmental Quality, said samples of dust taken from the Signal Hill neighborhood have been linked to operations at Roanoke Electric and Howard Brothers.
"As far as I know, this is the most conclusive" evidence of the dust's origin, Saunders said.
In September, Signal Hill residents filed a petition that launched a grand jury investigation into what the residents called a public nuisance.
Since the grand jury began its investigation, both Roanoke Electric and Howard Brothers have announced plans to construct buildings to enclose parts of the operation and, they hope, contain the dust.
Completion is at least a few months away, and the grand jury is expected to continue to monitor the situation.
Howard Brothers recycles furnace waste from Roanoke Electric Steel, hauling it by the truckload and dumping it in huge outdoor piles near Shenandoah Avenue.
Metals extracted from the waste are returned to Roanoke Electric; the rest of the material is sold as fill dirt for road construction and other projects.
State officials and residents have said that when hot slag is dumped into the piles, dust and steam billow into the air, sometimes as high as 300 feet.
Residents of the Norway Avenue area have complained that the clouds drift into their neighborhood and coat their houses, cars and lawns with grime.
An attorney for Howard Brothers has said that the company is not the only source of the dust. But air-pollution inspectors say the latest tests presented to the grand jury are the best indication so far.
Saunders said samples taken from the slag piles, a monitoring station and the neighborhood all contained the same basic elements.
Laboratory tests determined that the dust that falls on the neighborhood contains a mixture of lime and metal byproducts and is not considered toxic.
"We're not talking so much of a health hazard, but it is an irritant," said Gerry Ford of the Department of Environmental Quality.
Ford said specialists were taking samples from the neighborhood when one of the clouds erupted from the slag piles, causing the samplers to experience burning sensations in their eyes.
The next grand jury session is scheduled Feb. 23, according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Nagel, who assisted the panel when it met Wednesday in Roanoke Circuit Court.
The grand jury resumed its closed sessions this month after taking a recess in October to await results from laboratory tests and news of construction plans.
Once the investigation is complete, the grand jury could authorize civil action to have the operation declared a public nuisance. However, that may not happen if measures taken by Roanoke Electric and Howard Brothers resolve the problem.
by CNB