
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 18, 1993                   TAG: 9312180114
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NORFOLK SOUTHERN LAUNCHES NEW FIGHT TO STIFLE COAL DUST

In an attempt to reduce the amount of coal dust blowing off its cars and improve relations with residents who complain about the grime, Norfolk Southern Corp. next year will begin to monitor and control the soot.

In April, the railroad and Consolidated Coal Co., a West Virginia mining company, will begin spraying some of their dustiest coals with experimental hardening agents.

The companies said they also will devise methods to load coal so it won't blow away so easily when being transported across Virginia or at coal piers in Norfolk, where it is loaded onto ships.

The two measures will cost about $300,000, shared equally by the companies.

After the pilot program is begun, NS said Friday, it will continue operating its water spraying station at Narrows in Giles County.

There, coal cars passing through the station are sprayed with water to suppress dust, an effort that has had mixed results depending on weather conditions, according to NS spokesman Robert Fort.

The pilot program with Consol represents roughly 30,000 carloads of coal per year, or about 10 percent of NS's total coal traffic, Fort said.

Residents in both the Roanoke Valley and in Norfolk have complained for years of coal dust soiling their houses, cars and wash on clotheslines.

NS has disputed the claims but now would like to settle the issue once and for all.

"We want to find a resolution to this issue," Fort said. "It doesn't do us or anyone any good to keep the debate going."

Simpson Weather Associates, a Charlottesville consulting and research firm, is conducting the coal dust control program. The company has been authorized to work with at least two chemical manufacturers to find an effective hardening agent.

As much as 600 pounds of coal can blow off a 100-ton carload during the 360-mile trip from West Virginia to Norfolk, Simpson researchers have found. During the yearlong test period, hardening agents will be sprayed on about 30,000 of the 400,000 cars that make the trip annually.

Increasing complaints by residents along NS's rail line have prompted state lawmakers to consider coal dust legislation.

"We intend to see that concerns about coal dust emissions are addressed responsibly," said state Sen. Elliot Schewel, D-Lynchburg and chairman of a joint subcommittee investigating coal dust complaints.

Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.

by CNB