Media

News and Opinion Articles

Issues around coal dust pollution have been documented in newspapers and other forms of media for decades. The first mention in the Daily Press of Newport News appears in 1927, describing the use of sprinklers to "minimize damage and discomfort arising from large quantities of coal dust in the air." This coverage includes residents' testimonials of the negative effects of coal dust, proposed solutions to mitigate impacts, air monitoring studies such as the Tidewater Air Monitoring Evaluation (TAME), denials of any problem from corporate representatives from Norfolk Southern and Dominion Terminal Associates, politicians describing their desires to change the landscape of coal dust pollution in the area, and relevant events such as community-organized actions and events and City Council meetings.

The Meaning of Green

The Meaning of Green is an environmental politics podcast produced by Vivian Thompson, a former member of the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board and University of Virginia professor. The podcast has two episodes on coal dust pollution: Coal Dust Is Black (season 3, episode 1) and The Power Game (season 3, episode 2). The episodes discuss coal dust issues in Lambert's Point, Norfolk and rural Roda in Virginia's Wise County and feature an interview with Lambert's Point resident and New Virginia Majority activist Carl Poole. Thompson estimates 343 coal cars travel through Lambert's Point each day, a number based on coal export data through the terminal (2018–2022) and government estimates of the tons of coal carried per train car.

Coal Blooded

Coal Blooded is a documentary short film on the impacts of coal dust on Southeast Newport News. Coal Blooded was made by videographer Brandon Davis. Coal Blooded features interviews with former Newport News Mayor Dr. McKinley Price, Southeast Newport News residents and activists Angela Harris and Yugonda Sample-Jones, Asa Townsend from Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture, and Christopher Newport University Associate Professor Johnny Finn.

Coal Blooded won first prize at the 2023 Richmond Environmental Film Festival.

Crosswinds

Crosswinds Image

Repair Lab Multimedia Producer Adrian Wood produced and released Crosswinds, a five-episode podcast on friendship, justice, evidence, and faith in the fight for clean air in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Episode 1: Friendship. Malcolm Jones and Lathaniel Kirts are lifelong friends who are teaming up to deal with harmful coal dust that clouds the air in their hometown. The source, coal terminals that together form America's largest coal export system.

Episode 2: Change. Gentrification of neighborhoods contaminated by coal dust in Southeast Newport News, Virginia may be the leverage needed to push environmental mitigation efforts. But changes can also push residents out of their homes. And people wonder – how will the coal dust affect newcomers to the neighborhood, who may not be aware of the problem?

Episode 3: Cost. Since the earliest days of railroads in the U.S., Black and poor residents have covered the costs of the coal and rail industries with their health and well-being. It is a tax they pay to wealthy fossil fuel corporations, who continue to escape accountability. This isn't just in Hampton Roads – all along the railroad tracks, from West Virginia to Baltimore, the coal and rail industries displace costs onto neighboring residents.

Episode 4: Proof. There is a new study that could offer more information on the coal dust in Hampton Roads, Virginia. But will it be enough to reduce coal dust? Doubt hangs in the air. The only thing residents know for sure is they want the coal dust gone.

Episode 5: Faith. Residents of Hampton Roads are demanding an end to the coal dust after decades of struggle. But the road to environmental justice is long and winding, full of setbacks and switchbacks. What does it mean to have faith that change is possible and that effort is worthwhile?

Crosswinds received local and regional media coverage and was named to the Future of Media Awards shortlist 2024.

Documents

News Articles

• Railroads of Port Adopt Coal Sprinkle: Growing demand for Sprinkled Coal Said to Be Made by Trans-Shippers, Daily Press, November 23, 1927
• Voorhees, Railroads, Utilities Clash Over Dust From Coal Trains, New York Times, Jan 25, 2010
• Coal Dust, Piles an Issue for Southeast Newport News, Daily Press, July 16, 2011
• Colvin, Part One – Coal Dust: Lambert Point’s Invisible Menace, The New Journal and Guide, 2015
• Colvin, Part Two – Coal Dust: An Invisible Menace, The New Journal and Guide, 2015
• Mayfield, Coal Dust Gets an Airing Outside Norfolk Southern Shareholders Meeting, The Virginian Pilot, May 11, 2017
• Byrum, Why Black Communities are Resisting Coal Pollution in Norfolk, New Virginia Majority Blog, June 24, 2020
• Hafner, Coal Dust Has Long Plagued Norfolk, Newport News. With New $500K Grant, Virginia Plans to Study What’s in the Air, The Virginian Pilot, September 30, 2020
• Domecq, Residents Near Trainyard Discuss Efforts to Study and Solve Coal Dust Problems, The Appalachian Voice, January 13, 2021
• Janney, Study Aims to Test Effects of Coal Dust, but Residents are Skeptical Change Will Come, The Virginian Pilot, November 3, 2023
• Hollingsworth, Newport News Residents Voice Concerns about Coal Pollution, 3WTKR, January 23, 2024
• Janney, A Dome in Newport News? Residents Ask City to Consider Barriers for Coal Dust, Daily Press, January 24, 2024
• Hafner, Stricter Federal Air Pollution Standards Likely Won't Help Hampton Roads Communities Plagued by Coal Dust, WHRO, March 22, 2024
• Saitta, Newport News Residents Say Coal Dust is the Source of Some Health Problems, WTKR, April 20, 2024

Opinion Articles

• Kirts, Opinion: A Pastor's Plea to Combat Coal Dust in Newport News and Norfolk, Virginian Pilot, November 11, 2023

Multimedia

• Thompson, The Meaning of Green, Coal Dust is Black, August 2021
• Thompson, The Meaning of Green, The Power Game, September 2021
• Davis, Coal Blooded, 2022
• Wood, Crosswinds, 2024