‘This is a matter of life and death’: A Virginia community choking on coal dust pleads for help

Residents of Lambert's Point, Virginia have worked for years to fight the coal dust in their community, but their concerns continue to go unheard.

NATASHA GEILING

MAR 15, 2018, 8:00 AM

The journey begins in southwest Virginia, in the coalfields that once fed the region’s rural economy, as hundreds of empty train cars roll their way into mines. From there, loaded to the brim with over 100 tons of coal, the trains travel eastward, through Appalachia, through rural and urban communities, and miles of open land in between. Eventually, they arrive in Norfolk, Virginia, coming to rest at Norfolk Southern’s Pier 6, the largest coal export facility in the Northern Hemisphere.

For miles, those open-top train cars roll along uncovered, battered by the elements. The trains spew coal dust throughout their journey — as much as a ton or more per car, in fact. And while the dust settles everywhere along the route, its choking presence is perhaps most noticeable in the community in the shadow of Pier 6, where thousands of train cars converge before their coal is dumped onto ships bound primarily for overseas markets.

The neighborhood, known as Lambert’s Point, is surrounded by industry and separated from Pier 6 on the north end by a single street. From the homes of Lambert’s Point, the 400 acres of coal operations that comprise Pier 6 are largely out of sight, obscured by an old Norfolk Southern train that permanently blocks the view.

But while one parked train can obscure the sight of the coal operations, it can’t keep the coal itself from creeping into the neighborhood. It’s impossible to ignore the black soot on rooftops and awnings, on the sides of houses and on cars. And residents worry that if the dust shows up on their windows, or in their air filters, it’s also getting into their lungs.
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Coal dust on patio furniture in Lambert's Point. (Credit: Natasha Geiling/Diana Ofosu)