As the dust settles

Seward City News, Carol Griswold (Sat 7 Apr 2007)

"The empty Alaska Railroad coal train headed north on Wednesday, and the Yong Jia coal ship steamed back to South Korea on Tuesday, leaving in their respective wakes a lot of coal dust and unhappy locals..."

"...From February through April, the coal train unloading operation generated numerous complaints as the 100-ton coal cars were unloaded in winds far exceeding the recommended 15 mph limit. It soon became evident that the AKRR is unable to control the dust no matter what the wind speed; it was a huge problem even during the occasional periods of calm. It has been a continuing problem since 1985 when the first load of coal was unloaded..." read the article

. . .

Alaska Railroad cited for Seward coal dust POLLUTION: Dry air and strong winds sent clouds over the town and harbor, Anchorage Daily News, Rachel D'oro, The Associated Press (April 20, 2007) "The Alaska Railroad failed to prevent unacceptable levels of sooty dust at its Seward coal loading center from drifting across the seaside town, regulators said this week after investigating complaints from scores of residents..." [This article also showed up in the Seattle PI online edition April 19, 2007 -ke]

In 2006: "Korean shipments continued, with 352,367 tons to that destination via the Alaska Railroad to the Seward Coal terminal and by ship from that point. Shipments also continued to Chile in the amount of 80,673 tons for the year." (ALASKA’S MINERAL INDUSTRY 2006: A SUMMARY, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Information Circular 54, (March 2007)