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| Cutting through the haze Local health department offers options for pollution reform SideStory: Getting a grip on air pollution in the Four Corners
by Missy Votel The squeaky wheel of protesting south side residents received a little oil this week. A report has been issued, detailing ways for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to decrease the smoky haze over the local neighborhood. Earlier this summer, San Juan Basin Health Department commissioned Denver consultants Earth Tech Inc. to conduct a study of options to reduce particulate emissions from the train at the behest of residents. ?We?re a public agency, so when anything deals with public health, we?re there to do the research and try to solve the problem,? said Brett Francois, environmental specialist with SJBHD. ?We decided to take charge and hire an engineer to come up with options to make the train more efficient and cleaner.? Francois noted that although the train?s emission levels still fall below Environmental Protection Agency standards, complaints about smoke on Durango?s south side have been much higher than in years past. ?The train smoke on the south side has been terrible this summer,? he said. A south side resident himself, Francois said one theory as to why the smoke appears to be worse this summer than in recent ones has to do with meteorological factors, mainly wind and temperature inversions that trap the smoke. ?Sometimes the cold air sinks and the warmer air forms a seal over the smoke,? he said. The study, which cost the health department around $3,000, focused on idling locomotives, a practice referred to as ?hot standby,? whereby the engines remain stoked with coal overnight, at reduced temperatures to remain warm. During summer months, about four locomotives remain on hot standby throughout the night. However, the roundhouse only has three scrubbers. Because of heating issues, the scrubbers are turned off from October to May. According to study author and engineer Kevin Milliman, the hot standby phase of the operation was chosen for closer inspection because it presents the biggest opportunity for improvement. ?It offers the most likely reduction in overall emission of particulates due to the length of time the engines are operated in this manner,? Milliman stated. In order to reduce particulate emissions, Milliman suggested the train use either external or internal engine heaters that run on cleaner burning fuels, such as propane or natural gas, to keep the trains? fireboxes warm throughout the night. Another option involved heating the fireboxes with hot water. Of the options, Milliman concluded that the hot water method would be the most effective, although it was estimated to cost more than twice that of the other alternatives, at about $215,000. ?The dollar figures are not that exorbitant,? said Wano Urbonas, environmental health director for San Juan Basin, of the estimate. Furthermore, he noted the train would not have to foot the entire bill ? funding may be available from economic development resources such as Region 9. Repeated calls to a representative at the train for comment were not returned. However, Urbonas said all train-pollution calls that the health department receives are referred to the train. He also said he has been in contact with Paul Schranck, operations manager with the train, who is open to feedback. ?He encourages people to call him and let him know when they have health concerns,? he said. According to Francois, possible health issues related to heavy particulate matter includes upper respiratory illnesses such as coughing, wheezing and asthma, particularly in younger children. He also said closing windows and doors may not necessarily be the best solution to the problem. ?What happens then is, you?re trapping that particulate matter in your home and it becomes more concentrated, and indoor air quality drops,? he said. In addition, in many of the older, draftier homes, it may be virtually impossible to keep the smoke out, regardless of closed windows and doors. Particulate air samples from the train are taken from a spot referred to as ?the platform site? near the train?s roundhouse every three days. However, since the train falls under the category of a ?mobile source of emissions? the health department is powerless to regulate it, said Francois. ?We can only try to work with them,? he said. For longtime south side resident Jerry Swingle, however, such aspirations typically fall short. A member of the now-inactive South Durango Neighborhood Association, which has taken a vocal stance against train pollution in the past, he said he has heard the same argument before. According to Swingle, the group presented similar alternatives several years ago to the train, when it was under different ownership. ?We proposed those things to the train eight years ago,? he said. ?The gist was, ?Thanks, but no thanks.?? Swingle also said he rejected the notion that weather forces are causing the recent increase in south side soot. Rather, he believes the quarter-of-a-million dollar scrubber system the train installed a few years back has fallen into disuse because of costs associated with running it. As a member of the inter-agency/government-sponsored Air Quality Advisory Council for the last several years, he said the group frequently contacted the train over smoke, only to be told the scrubbers weren?t working. ?We?d get a hold of the train, and that?s when we?d get one of their long list of excuses, that is was broken, or being repaired or too expensive to run,? he said. Nevertheless, Swingle said he remains hopeful that some day the smoke will clear. ?I can?t say I?ve given up hope completely,? he said. ?I?m convinced that if they were to keep the locomotives in the roundhouse, add an additional movable scrubber arm and make sure the system was running, we?d probably be in relatively good shape.? In the meantime, Urbonas said he has sent a copy of the Earth Tech report to Allen Harper, owner of the railroad. He said he is hopeful that the impending relocation of the train?s parent company, American Heritage Railways, to Durango will signal a shift in the prevailing winds. ?It would be a great time to practice good air policies from a good neighbor perspective,? said Urbonas. ?We?ll keep our fingers crossed. It has promise, from social, economic and environmental standpoints.? ?
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In this week's issue...
- January 25, 2024
- Bagging it
State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies
- January 26, 2024
- Paper chase
The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.
- January 11, 2024
- High and dry
New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows