Coal Free Curtis Bay, Community of Curtis Bay Association and their “student study.”
They’re not good faith actors. They are not in large in numbers, but they don’t give up in their quest of blaming CSX for all the polluted air in South Baltimore. They use “scientific studies” to advance the goal of blaming CSX and a simple study of finding coal particles is their latest feat. They use health concerns of Curtis Bay residents as a political front. Their real end goal is to close the Curtis Bay Piers at a time when the world is starving for energy to advance, such as powering advanced computers for Artificial Intelligence. Coal is the easiest and most cost effective form of energy security and national security for many growing countries.
The Curtis Bay community groups have something else they wish to impose on the rest of the world outside South Baltimore.
John Hopkins’ Student Junk Science Study. The newest “scientific study” (Nov. 2024) to find coal particles in the Curtis Bay has, you guessed it, found coal particles in that air in the community. Well, yes, the coal particles were “found in measurable amounts.” Wow, yes, there’s been coal dust found, which is less the farthest from the facility. Oh, boy, what a revelation…so, Earth shattering!
The first thing you need to know about this student study is that it was looking only for coal particles. In one sample, the students found 7 coal particles out of 82 particles observed from settled dust collected with conductive carbon tape. And the students only sampled for coal dust particles at only two locations. The convention in scientific research (natural science, as well as the social sciences) is to obtain many samples to get a full and accurate picture of what you are trying to measure. Since the purpose here is just to find coal particles, I guess a larger sample size is not needed.
So, let’s take the first sample: 7 coal particles out of 82 observed through an electron microscope. The obvious question you may ask is: What kind of particulate matter (PM) are the other 75 particles? If we are really, seriously interested in the health of the people who live in Curtis Bay…this should be a very important question! Because the black soot that “the community” also reports may very well be diesel exhaust, made up of diesel particulate matter (DPM), and DPM is composed of over 40 cancer-causing organic substances, according to the State of California. DPM causes a whole host of immediate respiratory issues, as well as cardiovascular issues. DPM can effect the air inside, as well as the air outside of buildings.
We should know what the other 75 particles are, for the sake of the residents that live in Curtis Bay, to address all sources of air pollution! What if the students’ sample comprises 20 DPM particles or more?! Yes, ponder that…
The real agenda behind the coal dust hunt in Curtis Bay. What we read at the beginning of this “student study” is the truthful statement about the record level of global coal consumption. There’s connections of the Curtis Bay Piers to environmental justice and the location of toxic facilities in “communities of color.” This would be a wrong assessment about the Curtis Bay Piers, as they were put there 140 years ago by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The Piers weren’t put there because black people lived there, as with toxic dumping, and who cares about their health. The real sources of air pollutants and the health of residents are of no concern to the Coal Free Curtis Bay ilk. Their only concern is to work to shutter the Curtis Bay piers and stop the flow of coal to the rest of the world. The health of Curtis Bay residents is just theater.
Well, we should care about the health of the residents of Curtis Bay. If you want to talk about a company that cares about the health of communities it serves, it’s CSX. After derailments, CSX comes in to responsibly clean up all the mess and works with unified commands and local leaders to put the community right. From where I sit, it’s the residents of Curtis Bay, steered by groups with the agenda of closing Curtis Bay, who don’t want to talk to CSX, or anyone else for that matter, to address all the pollution sources in South Baltimore. The residents of Curtis Bay need responsible groups and leaders to address their air quality concerns. With that, we need to find out what the other 75 particles are…
Further reading:
Daniel Walters. The evidence is thin that uncovered coal trains pose a unique health hazard to Spokane. Inlander. May 9, 2017.
