The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is moving forward with a long-awaited air study to determine whether dust from coal terminals is affecting neighborhood health in Newport News and Norfolk after years of delays, the agency said this week.
Monitoring planned inside Newport News and Norfolk
DEQ is now accepting contractor bids to install and operate temporary monitoring stations that will gather air data over a 16-month period. The work will focus on the coal-handling operations at Lamberts Point in Norfolk and the Southeast Community terminal in Newport News.
City and agency officials outlined planned sampling locations and the types of analyses to be performed. In Norfolk, the city council unanimously approved a right-of-entry agreement that permits the state to place three monitoring sites at the following locations:
- End of West 25th Street
- Lot next to the fire station at 43rd Street and Hampton Boulevard
- Open lot near West 26th Street and Bowden's Ferry Road
In Newport News, DEQ plans to install two monitoring stations:
- An Achievable Dream Tennis Center
- Intersection of 31st Street and Wickham Avenue
| City | Planned monitoring sites | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | West 25th St.; 43rd St. & Hampton Blvd. lot; West 26th & Bowden's Ferry Rd. lot | 16 months |
| Newport News | An Achievable Dream Tennis Center; 31st St. & Wickham Ave. | 16 months |
Scope of testing and community concerns
DEQ said the temporary stations will collect standard particulate matter measurements and will also use filter samples for chemical analysis to test for metals and other constituents. The agency listed the specific metals it intends to analyze: arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese and nickel. Officials also plan microscopic analysis of fine particulates.
"The stations will collect particulate matter samples and have the filters from those analyzed for toxic materials,"
Residents in neighborhoods surrounding the terminals have complained for decades about coal dust from passing trains and from the terminals coating homes and vehicles. Community members have voiced concerns about respiratory illnesses, including asthma, and have pressed local and state officials for more comprehensive air monitoring.
Local advocates and residents have pointed to visible dust and anecdotal health complaints as reasons for expanded testing. Previous studies have produced mixed findings: a 2017 Norfolk study concluded particulate levels were below federal thresholds and did not present a risk to public health, while a separate Peninsula study from 2005 examined related issues but did not resolve all community concerns.
Delays, smaller monitoring efforts and next steps
DEQ project managers had previously indicated monitors would be installed in 2024 and that the project would conclude this year, but the study has been delayed. In the interim, DEQ installed two smaller, consumer-grade Purple Air monitors in the area to provide limited, real-time particulate readings for community use, though those devices do not replace comprehensive, long-term sampling with laboratory analysis.
The agency’s call for contractor bids is the next formal step in launching the expanded study. Once a contractor is selected and city access agreements are finalized, the temporary monitoring sites will be installed and begin collecting samples that will be analyzed over the study period.
For Newport News residents, the study represents an opportunity to obtain systematic, laboratory-backed data on airborne particulates and metal constituents near the Southeast Community terminal. Whether those findings will lead to regulatory action, operational changes at the terminals, or targeted public-health responses will depend on results and subsequent reviews by state and local authorities.
Officials did not provide a specific date for the start of full monitoring in public statements tied to the bid announcement. Interested community members and local leaders will be watching the procurement and installation timeline closely as the study moves forward.
