Air quality tests have detected higher than healthy concentrations of airborne manganese in Glasgow Borough, Beaver County, and state and federal environmental agencies say they are continuing to investigate the cause of the problem.
The eight-month long air testing done by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was prompted by concerns raised by residents of Glasgow regarding dust emissions from a number of industrial sites on the Ohio River at the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, including S.H. Bell Co., a raw materials supplier to the steel industry, with terminals in East Liverpool, Ohio, and Midland, Pa.
The DEP announced Tuesday that, testing done in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio’s environmental agency from October 2014 to July 2015 shows airborne manganese levels varied widely but were measured at up to 44 times federal health-based screening levels. They averaged about 10 times higher.
John Bedeck, Bell project manager and director of quality, said the company has questions about the monitoring results, and noted that there are other known sources of manganese emissions in the area. He said the agencies have inspected Bell operations and found them clean.
About 260 people live in Glasgow, which is located between East Liverpool and Midland.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, manganese is a naturally occurring silver-colored metal that is used primarily in steelmaking, and also fireworks, dry-cell batteries and fertilizer.
Small amounts are found in many foods and water supplies and are beneficial to human health, but higher exposures through inhalation can cause central nervous system problems and respiratory disease.
The DEP sent its manganese test report results to the Glasgow Borough council, and has asked the Pennsylvania Department of Health to review the findings.
John Poister, a DEP spokesman, said the department will conduct additional testing to determine the source of the dust problem, and work with residents of the area, the EPA and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to reduce manganese levels.
He said there is no deadline for completing the testing, but the department “hopes to complete it as expeditiously as possible.”
Source: post-gazette