BLUE
RIDGE
ENVIRONMENTAL
DEFENSE
LEAGUE
www.BREDL.org
~ PO Box 88 Glendale Springs, North Carolina
28629 ~ Phone (336) 982-2691 ~ Fax (336) 982-2954
~ BREDL@skybest.com
CULLASAJA-BETHEL COMMUNITY
HEALTH SURVEY REPORT
March 8, 2002
Louis Zeller, Principal Field Investigator
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
initiated this survey in response to health
concerns of residents in the mountain community
of Bethel in Macon County in western North
Carolina. Bethel is a mixed
residential/agricultural community in the
Cullasaja River Valley, elevation 2200 feet asl.
The Bethel-Cullasaja community is the site of an
asphalt plant permitted to produce 180 tons/hour
and 100,000 tons/year of paving asphalt.
On October 14, 1998 the NC Division of Air
Quality issued an air pollution permit to Rhodes
Brothers Paving. Three weeks later BREDL
community organizers attended the first community
meeting called by residents of the Bethel
community in a small church on the Cullasaja
River. Citizens formed Neighbors Against the
Cullasaja Asphalt Plant (NACAP), a chapter of the
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.
On May 4, 1999 the asphalt plant commenced
operations. Immediately, residents were driven
from their homes by the smoke and odor. One 90
year old woman who lived nearby is reported to
have confronted the asphalt plant operator on his
property and said that she would not leave unless
the plant shut down. Secretary McDevitt of the NC
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
ordered the plant to close and called for an
investigation. On May 26 the NC Division of
Epidemiology sent Dr. Luanne Williams to meet
with the residents and visit the plant site. Dr.
Williams said that, based on the data provided to
the state by the asphalt company, the emissions
were within state limits.
After a brief period, the plant resumed
operation. Since then, the plant has continued to
be operated by Rhodes Brothers Paving.
After two seasons of operation, we began to work
with NACAP to develop a health survey to
determine what effects the plant operation has
had on the community. Working with Dr. William
Horn, we developed a 4-page survey instrument
based on an example provided by the Center for
Health and Environmental Justice. The survey was
carried out by a door-to-door interview method.
Occasionally, survey forms were left with
residents for completion by them and returned by
mail.
Our survey includes interviews with 22 residents
of the Bethel-Cullasaja community conducted from
February 23 to March 1, 2001. All the
interviewees live within a half mile of the
Rhodes Brothers asphalt plant which is on
Highlands Road, US highway 64. Nearly half of the
respondents to the survey reported negative
changes in their health since commencement of
asphalt operations on May 4, 1999.
Ten of our survey respondents (45%) responded yes
to question 6-B which asks, “Since May 1999
have you noticed a change in your health?”
The most frequent symptoms named included high
blood pressure (4 respondents), sinus problems (4
respondents), headaches (3 respondents), and
shortness of breath (2 respondents). Other
symptoms which developed since May 1999 include
onset of weight gain (1 respondent) and episodes
of dizziness (1 respondent).
The survey respondents’ male-female ratio is
48:52. The age range is from 5 to 77 years old
and the average is 47.8 years. Eighteen of the
respondents (82%) have lived at their present
domicile since May 1999. Ten of the respondents
(45%) report some tobacco use during their lives,
27% use tobacco now. Nine respondents (41%)
reported occasional to moderate use of alcoholic
beverages. (See Table A attached)
The following are detailed survey responses from
survey subjects who answered in the affirmative
to question 6-B: “Since May 1999
have you noticed a change in your health? If yes,
please describe what has changed.”
uID#2 Twenty-seven year old
white female reported a history of “migraine
headaches” which
are not under the treatment of a physician. Since
the plant opened she reported “headaches in
the morning when the plant starts” which
differed from her other headaches in duration.
She
said, “They actually go away.”
uID#8 Thirty year old white male
said he was currently suffering from sinus
pressure and
headaches which he treats with over the counter
medications. He reported that his sinus began
to “act up” more since he moved here in
June 2000. He reported that he was admitted to
the
hospital with chest pain for overnight
observation in June 2000. He was released without
a
diagnosis. Family history of allergy/asthma,
otherwise unremarkable.
uID#10 Sixty-six year old white
female currently under treatment for arthritis
said that since
summer 2000 her knees and ankles began swelling.
She suffers from bronchitis and
emphysema; has smoked cigarettes for 48 years,
now 3 packs/day.
uID#13 Fifty-three year old
white male reported a previous history of sinus
infections once a
year and seasonal congestion in winter. Since
1999 he reports that his sinus infections occur
twice a year and last longer, causing him to miss
work (school maintenance employee). He says
he often smells asphalt early in the morning even
in January and February when the plant is not
in operation.
uID#14 Fifty-one year old white
female under treatment for high blood pressure,
joint pains,
fatigue. She has a prescription for
anti-depressants. No tobacco or alcohol use.
Since May 1999
she reports the following changes:
“shortness of breath, smoke bothers me,
diesel smells, I’m
really sensitive to any smells including asphalt.
I have to hold my breath when I’m around
it.”
She complained of plant noise saying,
“It’s so loud our windows rattle.”
Her home is about 1200
feet from the asphalt plant.
uID#15 Forty year old white
female in generally good health says that since
May 1999 she has
begun to suffer sinus headaches which make her
feel like her “head is stopped up.”
Sees now
sees a doctor for her high blood pressure, and
has been on medicine for one year. She has
reports no family history for hypertension or
heart disease. She added that there is
“black stuff
on the porch when the plant is running,” and
that the noise from the plant sounds like a
“jet take
off.” Her home is one quarter mile from the
asphalt plant.
uID#17 Sixty-four year old white
female reports history of “low blood
pressure.” Since
summer 2000 she said her blood pressure is higher
but still within normal range. Since the plant
opened she has suffered from dizziness and
“difficult breathing” spells which last
for several
hours during which she feels like there is
“a cement block on my chest.” No
tobacco use,
moderate alcohol. Her family history includes
heart trouble, kidney/bladder trouble, and high
blood pressure.
uID#18 Fifty-eight year old
white male reports onset of high blood pressure
and weight gain of
20 pounds since May 1999. Former smoker, 2
pack/day for 36 years. Now taking prescription
for hypertension. He says that when the plant
operates it “vibrates the house” and
“things move
on the shelves.” His home is about one
hundred yards from the asphalt plant.
uID# 20 Seventy-seven year old
white male with history of rectal cancer surgery
in 1988 and
bleeding ulcers in 1979, reports he is now in
“pretty good” health. He reports that
since 1999 he
has had a sinus problem which he says,
“drains in my throat.” He complained of
noise, dust in
the house, and strong odor in his yard from the
plant which is about 700 feet from his home.
uID#21 Seventy-nine year old
white female under treatment for hypertension
says that since
May 1999 her blood pressure is “irregular,
too high.” Also notes “eye problems,
glaucoma,
retina problem, arthritis.
Our survey succeeded in eliciting data on health
problems which occurred subsequent to the
operation of the Rhodes Brothers Paving asphalt
plant. Our survey extended one-half mile from the
plant, but residents living up to three miles
from the plant report asphalt odors. Next, we
plan to correlate these data to the
resident’s distance from the plant. We will
determine ambient levels of toxins such as
benzene and formaldehyde at each household in the
survey using the same EPA-approved software which
is utilized by the NC Division of Air
Quality’s permitting division. We will
correlate these data to determine cause and
effect. Future reports will further this
analysis.
Table A.
Distance is recorded in number of feet from the
asphalt plant location
Reside = Time living at current residence
Tobacco = Smoking history, ppd = packs/day of
cigarettes, number = years subject smoked,
Q = quit smoking and not smoking now
ETOH = use of alcoholic beverages per day, week,
or occasionally
5/99 = Response to survey question 6-B
(posted: 3/11/2002)
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