Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 14, 1993 TAG: 9309140127
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Northwest Roanoke manufacturer said the building will enclose the lower end of its "melt shop," where scrap metal is turned into steel and slag is produced as a byproduct. Construction could begin in about two months.
Neighbors have complained for years that dust clouds form when a metal recycler, Howard Brothers Inc., hauls truckloads of hot slag from Roanoke Electric Steel's furnaces and dumps it on huge piles near Shenandoah Avenue, a short distance from the plant.
Steel company Chairman Donald G. Smith informed residents about his plans in letters hand-delivered Monday afternoon. "No longer will the hot slag be transported to Howard Brothers' processing area," said the letter.
"It would be marvelous if they'd do something about it," said Lucille McBride, of 3410 Norway Ave., N.W. "I just hope they do what they said they're going to do."
Residents say they have complained to state agencies, company officials and politicians for years without relief. They say a gritty fallout has dulled paint jobs on their cars, sifted into their homes and aggravated respiratory troubles.
McBride said she believes Roanoke Electric Steel is taking action now because she and her neighbors recently asked for a special grand jury - a rare judicial initiative in the Roanoke Valley.
"That's what it took," she said Monday, right after she and her husband, Steve, read the company's letter.
Roanoke Electric Steel's news release said slag will be saturated with water and cooled in the new building for 24 hours. Two concrete bins in the building will store the slag, it said.
Spokesman John Lambert said the construction project is still in the design stage, so he could not give the dimensions or cost of the proposed building.
Don Huffman, attorney and corporate secretary for Howard Brothers, had no comment Monday about the steel company's plans except to say that Howard Brothers was aware of them. He said Howard Brothers will issue a statement today.
Air pollution inspectors have not been able to prove the source of the dust, and Huffman has said it could come from a number of sources.
Inspectors have logged hundreds of hours since the mid-1980s gathering samples of dust and talking with frustrated neighbors. So Don Shepherd, the regional air pollution chief for the state Department of Environmental Quality, was glad to hear about the plans.
He thought the company's new approach might work. "That's the kind of thing we were hoping someone could do there. I think that really shows a great attitude on the part of Roanoke Electric Steel."
The grand jury's investigation will proceed, but Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell said jurors will learn of the company's proposal.
"That's a real good sign," he said of the news. He said all parties to the dust dispute have seemed eager to solve the problem.
Several residents testified before grand jurors last week. On Wednesday, a representative from Howard Brothers is scheduled to testify and jurors may drive around the neighborhood and the industrial area. It stretches along the railroad between Westside Boulevard and 31st Street Northwest.
Oscar Jenkins, an elderly resident who got his lawyer to file the petition for a grand jury this summer for $51, heard the news as he got ready to go into the hospital this week.
"They've promised so many things at so many different times," he said of the steel company. "[But] if that will solve the problem, it will tickle the heck out of me. I want to see some results."
by CNB