Although there are no coal deposits in eastern Virginia, it is a major hub for coal. Norfolk of the famed Norfolk Southern (formerly Norfolk and Western) railways serves as an important hub for shipping coal mined from West Virginia and other Appalachian areas to be exported overseas.
The coal is transported from the coal hopper trains, to large piles before being shipped abroad. This has been an important industry for the area for decades but has been a big health burden on the local community. However, assessing the extent of the problem is difficult as many of the potential sensors being deployed may not adequately capture the transport of coal dust from the piles to the surrounding communities.
Learn more about coal dust here through the Crosswinds-podcast
An interdisciplinary team of scientists from UVA (Dr. Sally Pusede, Dr. Liana Richardson, Dr. Kimberly Fields and myself), local community organizers, and the UVA Repair Lab are coming together to tackle this issue and understand the extent of the problem of coal dust and our measurement techniques.
PhD student Robin Truong and myself (Dr. Justin Richardson) are leading the field sampling which is comprised of soil samples, tree samples, outdoor window/door wiping, and road dust collections.
Using geochemical tools (elemental ratios and isotopic ratios) we will identify and quantify the spatial extent and amount of coal present in the Newport News and Norfolk Virginia communities.
