Coal dust continues to plague Southeast Newport News.
Residents of the majority-Black community have long complained of the dark substance from nearby coal terminals blanketing cars, infiltrating home air filters and causing asthma. And, they say, nothing ever seems to change.
But community advocates believe hope is on the horizon. A campaign called Coal Dust Kills has gained traction in recent years and led to some incremental progress.
The long-running fight to address coal dust was the theme of the Peninsula’s inaugural Environmental Justice Symposium at Christopher Newport University on Monday, hosted in partnership with the East End Civic Association. It was timed to coincide with CNU’s larger Hampton Roads Social Justice Conference this week.
“It's really about learning about environmental justice: what it is and how it impacts our community right here in Hampton Roads, and specifically in Newport News and Hampton,” said Johnny Finn, an associate professor of geography.
During a presentation, Finn outlined two facets of environmental justice: the idea that everyone should have equal access to environmental benefits and protection from harm.
Geographic equity focuses on people’s physical proximity to the “good stuff,” such as trees and clean water, and distance from the “bad stuff,” including air pollution, Finn said.
Procedural equity includes legal protections and people’s inclusion in making decisions about their environment.
Finn has conducted several mapping analyses that show strong correlations between environmental impacts and neighborhood boundaries that were drawn during the historical discriminatory practice known as redlining.
Marginalized communities often face higher levels of noise pollution, for example, and effects from extreme heat.
Southeast Newport News’ issue with coal dust is a prime example, Finn said. Coal has been transported in the area since the 1880s, but ramped up in the late 20th century.
The terminals in Norfolk and Newport News export more coal than anywhere else in the country. Millions of tons of coal arrive by train and are loaded onto ships sent around the world.
Lathaniel Kirts is a local pastor who helps lead Coal Dust Kills with the East End Civic Association.
He said his “eyes were opened” when he moved to Newport News from Norfolk, where residents of Lambert’s Point also face issues with coal dust.
“The same thing was transpiring here,” Kirts said. “Coal dust goes into our neighborhoods, sits in our gardens, our playgrounds, our homes, and invades our lungs.”
In 2020, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality received a federal grant to set up regulatory-grade air quality monitors in Lambert’s Point and Southeast Newport News. The project has not yet moved beyond planning stages.
Community advocates say they can’t wait any longer to collect data that would prove the problem to public officials. Kirts is among a group that’s been working with the University of Virginia’s Repair Lab, which focuses on environmental justice.
UVA provided funding to put up about 20 air monitors throughout the area to capture data that is posted live on the project website.
Attendees of Monday’s event took a bus tour that included a stop at one home monitoring site across Interstate 664 from Kinder Morgan’s coal terminals.
The solar-powered monitor is attached to a pole and connected to the internet to send data in real time. Next to it, a bucket is covered with a material designed to capture coal dust particles, which are sent to UVA for lab testing of toxic metals, such as arsenic.
“We wanted to leave no room for anyone to say, ‘It's the car traffic, it's the grass cutting, it’s this, it’s that,’” said Norfolk resident Malcolm Jones, who works with Coal Dust Kills. “We wanted to be able to pinpoint exactly what's in it and connect it to what's happening with the community and the different issues that they're reporting that they have.”
He said it’s important to share that data directly with residents, who haven’t always gotten to see results from studies done over the years.
Sally Pusede, an environmental science professor and co-director of UVA’s Repair Lab, noted during a presentation that previous monitoring efforts have used devices that measure PM2.5, which are microscopic airborne particles.
But coal dust often contains larger, coarser particles classified as PM10, which would not necessarily be caught on monitors designed for smaller ones. The new community monitors are measuring both.
Government officials also typically calculate a 24-hour average of particle pollution, which can obscure instances where large amounts of coal dust are released in a shorter time frame, Pusede said.
After citizens’ pleas to the City Council, Newport News officials are conducting a study to evaluate a possible solution called a wind fence, which is a tall structure constructed next to a coal site to control dust flying off the piles.
During a panel discussion, residents shared their experiences spanning generations.
Chyna Hodges said she’s had asthma her whole life and “could barely breathe” during Monday’s brief bus tour near the coal terminal.
Margaret Bristow has lived in Southeast Newport News for 76 years.
“I’m glad they're doing something about something we already knew about,” she said.
Kirts noted there have been generations of residents fighting coal dust.
“But there's also a generation coming up,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure they’re ready to take on the mantle.”
To that end, community leaders started a small program called the Catalyst Club, which teaches children basic science about molecules related to coal dust.
One night, Kirts’ 5-year-old son, Legend, showed him his latest creation made of magnetic tiles.
It was a coal train car, flanked by a wind fence.
