WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The Winston Weaver Company has set up a toxicology hotline to help anyone who may face chemical exposure or health impacts connected to the fertilizer plant fire.
On Sunday, the City of Winston-Salem announced the new hotline courtesy of CTEH, an environmental consulting firm retained by the Winston Weaver Company.
According to the city, the hotline—(866) 412-7768—is staffed by toxicologists who know about the potential hazards connected to the fire. Callers can reach out from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. any day of the week.
The fire started on Jan. 31, prompting an evacuation of a 1-mile radius around the plant over concerns that the facility, which contained about 600 tons of ammonium nitrate, could explode.
On Thursday, officials reduced the evacuation zone around the plant to 660 feet, allowing many families to return home, and, by Saturday, the Forsyth County Environmental Assistance and Protection Board said the air quality in Winston-Salem was in good, breathable condition.
Since the fire, Winston-Salem city leaders raised concerns about possible chemical contamination in three local creeks after finding fish dead. The plant is also facing a lawsuit over property losses and negative health effects.
Chemicals in the water
On Saturday, the City of Winston-Salem said in a statement, “City officials are warning the public to stay out of Muddy, Mill and Monarcas creeks downstream from the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant and to keep pets and other animals out of the creeks due to elevated levels of chemicals in the water resulting from the fire at the plant.
Water runoff from the site went to a stormwater pipe that empties into Monarcas Creek south of the 8000 block of North Point Boulevard. Dead fish were found along the creek from the drain down to where Monarcas Creek meets Mill Creek. Officials also raised concerns about Muddy Creek because Mill Creek flows into it. The city is working on putting up water quality notices along the affected creeks.
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Crews sample water in Winston-Salem (Courtesy of the City of Winston-Salem) -
Crews sample water in Winston-Salem (Courtesy of the City of Winston-Salem) -
Fish kill observed in Monarcas Creek in Winston-Salem. (Courtesy of the City of Winston-Salem)
Samples of water from the pipe showed elevated levels of nitrites, nitrates, ammonia nitrogen and “other potentially harmful chemicals,” according to the city. The city warns that ingesting the water could be “harmful to health.”
The city’s water intakes on the Yadkin River were not affected, and there are no public water wells in the impacted areas.
Air quality
Director of Forsyth County Environmental Assistance and Protection Minor Barnette said, as of Friday, the air quality in Winston-Salem is now in good, breathable condition.
Barnette said officials have been monitoring the air quality since Monday and have noticed a positive trend, which has been considered breathable for people.
“For a normal, healthy teenager or adult, the risk of a negative health impact from a short-term exposure is a lot less than it is from somebody who’s elderly or has an underlying health condition,” said Barnette.
Barnette said those in perfect health won’t feel any effects from the smoke. Health officials said people with underlying issues should take extra precautions when outside.
“If it’s not clearly visible but you can smell it outside and start feeling any symptoms of respiratory irritation from your nose, your throat, and air passageways, it would be a good idea to go back inside until it clears out from the area,” said Barnette.
Officials said the wind patterns in the next few days will help move the smoke, and people will start seeing less smoke in the air and the smell of a burning odor.
Lawsuit against the Winston Weaver Company
The company is currently facing a lawsuit filed by attorney Kathleen Q. DuBois, who lives about a mile from the plant.
The lawsuit alleges the fire and evacuation led DuBois to face property losses and negative health effects. Even after evacuation, she says she continued to experience shortness of breath, coughing, headaches and irritation of the lung, nose and throat, according to the lawsuit.
“Many of the people impacted by the Weaver Fertilizer Fire are my neighbors and my friends,” Kathleen said in a statement. “By standing up for them, I am fulfilling a commitment I have made to seek justice for those in my local community just as I do for every client at Crumley Roberts.”
Crumley Roberts says DuBois plans to donate any recovery from the lawsuit to victims aid funds that may be established in the coming weeks.
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