More than a dozen environmental groups have petitioned that the EPA be more strict on regulations regarding coal pollution from open-top trains, and the group cites communities in Hampton Roads as evidence of a need for change.
“Indeed, for this community, the reality of constant coal losses has been known for some time,” the petition reads. “As one publication describes, ‘1,000 tons of the 90,000 tons of coal shipped in open carriers to Newport News and Norfolk (Lambert’s Point) terminals disappears into the air.’ These same neighbors have borne the environmental consequences of coal transportation by uncovered rail car. Citizens report of needing to clean their cars and homes frequently to remove coal dust and particulate matter that is constantly accumulating in the vicinity of nearby rail lines.”
The petition — signed by the Sierra Club, New Virginia Majority and 14 other groups — calls for the agency to require coal train operators to obtain a permit for their water pollution. In the petition, the groups argue that coal pollution is damaging local aquatic life and human health with heavy metals and toxic chemicals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium and mercury. The report states fine coal particulates adhere to and coat the leaves of seagrasses, which leads to reduced growth. For gilled animals, such as fish, coal particles “become lodged in the protective mucus and between gill lamellae,” causing gill damage.
“(Videos of trains losing coal during transit) provide telling demonstrations of just how commonplace coal losses are in the ordinary course of coal transportation by rail,” the petition states. “Some videos depict ‘super-dusters,’ or loaded coal trains that show huge losses of coal and coal particles from the tops of the uncovered rail cars. Every time these losses occur adjacent to or overtop of waterways, they result in the discharge of pollutants.
The petition also includes detailing the number of surface water crossings across rivers. The analysis revealed that railroads used for coal transport cross streams at about 5,100 locations along more than 1,200 streams in Virginia and West Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has been hosting community meetings in Lambert’s Point and the Southeast Community in Newport News to study the potential health risks associated with dust coming from nearby coal storage and transportation facilities. The department is asking for people to host air sensors in their yards as part of the Tidewater Air Monitoring Evaluation Program, or TAME.
Coal has been transported through these communities since at least 1885, and community members have long expressed concerns about potential health effects from coal dust. Currently, the coal terminals in the Southeast Community and at Lambert’s Point are used as transport areas for rail cars shipping coal internationally.
“Although the amount of particulates associated with coal dust remain lower than the national ‘standard,’ or maximum level, in these communities, coal dust is known to contain metals, which may be present in amounts that impact health,” a notice about TAME from the VDEQ reads.
Monét Johnson, lead organizer for New Virginia Majority, said the agency has an obligation to protect vulnerable communities.
“As an organization that stands for meeting the immediate need of the families of today and strives to create a just and healthy future for the families of tomorrow, it is imperative that the harmful effects of coal dust and coal ash are addressed now,” she said.
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
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