Ibtisam Ijbara, one of several plantiffs in a class-action lawsuit against Russian steelmaker Severstal North America Inc., collects a sample of soot on her patio chair in Dearborn as evidence of pollution in her neighborhood.Steel mill soot galvanizes Dearborn's south end
Neighbors in the south unite to sue the plant and demand an end to pollution.
The Severstal plant stands behind Yasser Maisari, who has led the fight to improve the air quality in south Dearborn.Error processing SSI file
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DEARBORN -- Yasser Maisari says that for residents of his old, industrial neighborhood in south Dearborn, push has finally come to shove.
Maisari and other residents busied themselves for months organizing to fight the air pollution that sometimes coats their cars and homes with dust. They worry that some of the health problems, like lung and heart ailments, occurring in the largely blue-collar neighborhood are caused or aggravated by the sooty pollution.
The residents have filed a lawsuit against Severstal North America Inc., the Russian steelmaker that now runs the old Rouge Steel plant that for generations has been a looming presence on Miller Road. They allege that Severstal is causing the tiny particles of air pollution, and they are asking the Wayne Circuit Court to force the company to clean up its operation, to disclose what is in the pollution and to assess damages.
"All of our concerns and complaints, even though they are valid and justified -- and we have evidence -- it is all falling on deaf ears, whether it is with local or even national officials," Maisari said.
"We have the physical data. We have proof," he said. "Come to our neighborhood. It is on our cars and in our homes. This is the stuff we are breathing."
Company officials said they believe they are complying with environmental regulations.
"From our perspective, we cooperate fully with the agencies in all aspects of our environmental performance," said Bill Hornberger, a spokesman for the company. "We take our environmental responsibilities seriously. Do we always work perfectly? No. But we are focused on our environmental programs."
Lawyers for the residents say the lawsuit was filed in Wayne Circuit Court in late January, and they are waiting for Severstal to respond.
"It's basically an abatement lawsuit," said Christopher Bzdok, a lawyer in Traverse City who is representing the residents, who are seeking class-action status. "This is an attempt to try to get a handle on their fine-particle emissions."
If the residents feel their complaints are unheeded, they may soon discover that their work is not in vain.
After The Detroit News reported in November on their efforts to organize the largely Arab and Latino residents of the area in south Dearborn and southwest Detroit to fight the pollution, the state Department of Environmental Quality issued four letters of violation to Severstal. And enforcement officials at the federal Environmental Protection Agency say that, especially based on the recent complaints from the state, it will exercise "heightened scrutiny" of reports it receives from the Severstal plant on the solid air emissions it produces.
"We do have compliance issues with Severstal," said Patricia Spitzley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Quality. "I think that if we've had responses from the company, they have not been adequate. We have a variety of tools in our enforcement, and we are continuing to look at this matter."
"Four letters of violation since November? That is serious in our minds," Spitzley said.
The EPA sued the former Rouge Steel operation in 2000 and obtained a consent decree in U.S. District Court requiring Rouge Steel to clean up its act. Since then, according to EPA officials in the regional office in Chicago, they have monitored the company on a regular basis.
The consent decree will expire in June, but only if the court determines that the plant is in compliance with federal law regulating the production of air pollution containing minute particles.
By the court agreement, which also governs Severstal, the company contracts for independent monitors who systematically inspect the emissions to determine the level of solids in the air pollution. The independent monitor's reports are filed on a quarterly basis.
"For the most part, they do not exceed standards," said Ed Wojciechowski, of the enforcement division of the EPA. "But, periodically, there's a blip."
Wojciechowski said that he discusses the blips with the company, to try to make sure they do not occur again.
"If it is something that happens more frequently, then it is a problem we have to go after," he said. "I think what is happening now is that the state is going out there a lot more frequently over the past couple of months to look at it, and I have called Severstal to make sure they know we are keeping an eye on these reports."
EPA officials also made clear that a decision about seeking an extension of the federal consent decree will depend on the performance of the company.
Maisari and other residents say they are sensitive to the need for jobs, especially manufacturing jobs in Michigan. But they say they believe that their vibrant immigrant community is suffering from the effects of air pollution that may well be illegal. And, they say, until recently they had been unable to get the attention of government regulators.
"We are right in the middle of industry, and we understand that," Maisari said. "But there are rules and there are laws, and the situation we have here is difficult.
"What we are saying is that we understand that these facilities have a right to exist, all we are saying is that we have a right to co-exist in a healthy environment."
Other residents also say the mystery they believe enshrouds the pollution is something that disturbs them.
"Aren't they at least supposed to release some information to the public regarding whether this is a danger?" asked Mahmoud Ijbara. "We have to find out exactly what we are breathing, and I hope the government is now willing to do some of the talking we have been doing and take care of this."
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