‘Dustrehan’

Nearby residents are complaining that dust from a pair of grain elevators makes their homes dirty and even causes negative health effects

‘Dustrehan’ and ‘Cancer Alley’ are two names that are all too familiar for residents living in four subdivisions between the Bunge and ADM Grain Elevators.

“They still call this entire area along the river where we live and the areas between New Orleans and Baton Rouge ‘Cancer Alley,’” Carolyn Laurent, a resident who lives near the grain elevator, said.

“We can’t say that these people died from the dust, but on these two streets alone I’ve lost at least six friends because of cancer, one to emphysema.”
Laurent said her grandson used to visit frequently, but the child complained of itchy, watery eyes all the time so he doesn’t come as often.

“He doesn’t have those symptoms when he’s at home, it’s only over here,” she said.   “There are some people we know who suffered with allergies so bad that they couldn’t take it anymore and they had to move.”

When Bunge constructed its facility in the early 60s, the area consisted of large spaces of open land and was sparsely populated. But now, many families live near the grain elevator and that dust is causing them problems.

Dr. Mohan Gandhi, an allergy and asthma specialist from the St. Charles Community Health Center in Luling, says the grain dust is a health hazard. Gandhi says the dust contains toxins and can irritate anyone who already has existing health conditions like asthma or allergies.

“For those people that live near the grain elevators, if the wind is shifting the dust towards their homes and they’re outside, they can take precautions like wearing a mask when they go outdoors to cut their lawns,” he said. “The mask covers the mouth and the nose and can be purchased at a medical supply store.”

For workers at the grain elevator who have to be near the dust all day, Gandhi says they need to take as many precautions as possible.

“I’ve treated patients who had respiratory problems because they were exposed to dust because they worked at the grain elevators in the parish,” he said. “My recommendation to them is if you’re going to work at one of these facilities and you already have a health condition like asthma or allergies, wear a mask at all times when working near the grain.”

Gandhi says workers that have frequent allergy and asthma-like symptoms could develop more serious illnesses such as emphysema. He suggests they see their physician.

“For those with respiratory conditions already, like asthma, it may be best that they didn’t work around the grain dust at all,” he said. “It can only make the problem worse.”

Gandhi says mites also blend in with the grain dust.
“They are tiny bugs that are invisible to the eye, but they cause itching and other problems,” he said.
A group of more than 20 residents from Modoc, Gabriel Heights, Destrehan Park, and James Subdivisions showed up at the May 17 council meeting to protest Bunge Grain Elevator’s request to add additional railroad tracks. Some complained that the noise at the grain elevator is unbearable and that Bunge can’t expand under its current zoning.

Jerry Gibson, manager of the Bunge Grain Elevator, says he listened to the complaints of the residents and plans are ongoing to address the problem of “nuisance grain dust.”
“Bunge, over the years, has purchased homes from residents that wanted to move away from the grain elevator dust situation,” he said. “We own about 15 houses on both streets.”

Gibson says those houses are leased on a first come, first serve basis to Bunge employees or anyone else in the community that wants them.
“We purchased the homes closest to the elevator  just to keep the peace,” he said. “So if the people had complaints and wanted out of the neighborhood, these are the types of things we’ve done to help them leave.”

Gibson says Bunge has spent a lot of time and effort looking at ways to reduce the dust levels at the elevator.
“We spend a lot of time on dust control at the facility,” he said. “But any upgrades or adding any new equipment to the structure will have to be considered carefully.”
Gibson says the structure is 50 years old and that creates a problem in itself.

“We’d have to go in and do a lot of restructuring just to add any type of new equipment or put a certain system in place,” he said. “The only reason we were requesting the expansion is to allow us to hold our complete railcar system at our site. It wasn’t going to create any more of a problem for the community.”

Currently, Gibson says Bunge is storing their railcars with another rail company that is not associated with Bunge and is located at a different site.
Even without the expansion, Carolyn and her husband Raoul have a constant view of the grain elevator from their backyard.  The couple travels and spends a lot of time overseas to try and escape the noise and dust they believe reduces their quality of life in St. Charles Parish.

“The grain elevator is noisy, so we travel often for some relaxation,” Raoul said. “We decided to take a Mediterranean cruise one year, and we stepped out onto the ship’s balcony as we were going through Barcelona. There was a huge Bunge Grain Elevator with no dust.”

Raoul, who bought his home in 1960, saw Bunge set up shop just two years later. Over the years, he has tried to plant trees just to help combat some of the dust particles.
“Look around,” Raoul said, pointing towards his sliding glass door covered in dust. “It’s everywhere. You can wipe it away but it keeps coming back.”

Gibson says plans are underway for Bunge to meet with the residents again for future town hall meetings to discuss their issues.