Monday, July 11, 2016

EAST FORT WORTH...NOT JUST DUST IN THE WIND


Photo of Concrete Recycling Operation off Precinct Line and Norwood 


Got dust in your houses, cars, lungs?                                                                                                        

Do you know what's in that dust?

We used to have just plain old dirt dust from all the truck traffic and heavy equipment being used in the mining operations off Precinct Line, Norwood, and Trinity Blvd, but now we have silica dust.

Why do we have silica dust?

Because now we have 2 UNAUTHORIZED concrete recycling operations near our homes. No State-required air quality permits.  No City-required zoning.  No public hearings.  The developer just did it!

Remember the recent battle between the developer and the White Lake Hills neighborhoods?  This is exactly what they were fighting.  They didn't want a concrete recycling operation near their neighborhoods.  They stuck together and beat it! At least for now. The developer can try again in a year. Or maybe the developer won't bother and will just do it....like this developer did!?

What's so dangerous about concrete recycling? What's silica dust?

This is what OSHA says about it:  

"Crystalline silica is an important industrial material found abundantly in the earth's crust.  Quartz, the most common form of silica, is a component of sand, stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, and mortar.   

Silica dust is hazardous when very small (respirable) particles are inhaled.  These respirable dust particles can penetrate into the lungs and cause disabling and sometimes fatal lung diseases, including silicosis and lung cancer, as well as kidney disease.

Exposure to respirable silica occurs when cutting, sawing, drilling, and crushing of concrete, ceramic tiles, rock, and stone products." 

The Fort Worth Weekly recently published a short article about these unauthorized industrial operations but said our neighborhoods "aren't bothered".  


I think uninformed is more the case.




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Osha has to come out if someone files a compliant on the behalf of the employees there.

Anonymous said...

So what can be done about this?