BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
Residents concerned about emissions from the Gerdau Ameristeel mill will be able to tour the facility this weekend.
More than 20 residents attended Monday’s meeting of the Sayreville Environmental Commission to learn more about the plant’s response to their concerns about “black dust” materials that collect on their properties.
Resident Timothy Eppinger, who has been voicing his concerns about the plant since last year, said he will take the tour of the plant that is being offered to concerned residents Saturday at 10 a.m.
“Is this going to solve things? I don’t know,” Eppinger said.
The steel mill has not taken responsibility for the black dust, and Eppinger said he is concerned that the mill is waiting for proof that the material is coming from the plant before it takes real action to keep emissions off neighboring properties.
Tests conducted by Edison Wetlands Association and CME Engineering have found that the black dust material contains iron, lead, mercury, arsenic and other toxic materials.
Representatives of the mill have attended several Environmental Commission meetings to discuss their efforts to find the source of the pollution and discuss an action plan.
“They bought a weather station and they are installing it on the roof of the main building,” Eppinger said.
Also, the steel mill is going out to bid for two air-monitoring systems, one for each side of the plant, to test the wind before and after it passes through the mill, Eppinger said.
“A lot of things were promised, but do I think it is going to resolve the situation? No,” he said. “They are still insisting that the material is not coming from their place. I really don’t like the direction this is headed.”
Ronald Green, vice chairman of the Environmental Commission, said the steel mill is going to have samples from neighboring properties collected and tested.
“They are going to hire an independent testing company,” Green said.
The independent firm will collect the samples from properties off Horseshoe Road, Stegiel Place, Guilfoyle Street, and Modzelewski and Wilber terraces next week, with at least one member of the Environmental Commission present, Green said.
“The company is going to come and do a wipe on houses that are down in the area,” Green said.
“The Environmental Commission and the steel plant will not have anything to do with the samples,” Green added.
A few residents also voiced complaints about the noise coming from trains bringing scrap metal to the site and leaving the area with the finished product, Green said. That issue is under the federal government’s jurisdiction, since it regulates the trains.
“The steel plant and the commission agrees that there is not much we can do,” Green said. “We cannot make an ordinance to restrict the movement of these trains at certain hours.”
Green said representatives of the steel mill do not know where the black dust problems are coming from, and that is the purpose of the tests the company will run in the area.
“They cannot correct anything until they know exactly where this is coming from,” Green said.
Eppinger said he hopes the steel mill will address the issues.
“[I fear that] Gerdau Ameristeel will continue doing what they are doing until someone can put something together to prove them wrong,” Eppinger said.
A representative of Gerdau Ameristeel was unavailable for comment yesterday.