Asheville News

Two Haywood County schools named in USA Today report on schools subject to toxic air

Jason Sandford December 9, 2008

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

USA Today, a Gannett-owned newspaper like the Asheville Citizen-Times, had a special investigative report today that names two Haywood County schools among schools across the United States subject to toxic air. Yet the Citizen-Times hasn’t picked up on the report. What gives?

I don’t know, but News Channel 7 in South Carolina picked up on it. Here’s their report:

   Two North Carolina schools are among those with the highest levels of dangerous toxic chemicals in the air outside their schools according to a USA Today report.
Both schools are in Canton, NC which is in Haywood County, 13 miles west of Asheville. It’s also home to the Blue Ridge pulp and paper mill (Evergreen Packaging Group).
  Bethel Christian Academy is ranked the first percentile: 220 of nearly 130,000 schools. The USA Today study was ussed it to identify schools in toxic hot spots – a task the U.S. environmental protection agency had never undertaken.
  North Canton Elementary is also in that first percentile at 256.
Bethel Christian did not return News Channel 7 calls, but we reachedHaywood County Superintendent Dr. Anne Garrett about North Canton Elementary. Garrett says this is the first time the district was made aware of a possible problem with air quality. She says the District contacted the health department to see if anything needs to be done, and she says they she will stay in close contact with the paper mill to monitor conditions.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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7 Comments

eemilla December 10, 2008

I grew up on a dairy farm where I grew accustomed to the stench (although cow patties are not as noxious as that paper mill). I would have to stay away for a few days before I would really even notice it, No One. Just like any business, it is always much easier to follow the status quo rather than change anything until it is forced. However, thanks to free trade agreements that do not concern themselves with putting American industry on an even regulatory ground, you are likely correct that the mill will eventually close. It is not fair to ask the citizens of Canton and the surrounding communities to pay for their jobs with their health.

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No One In Particular December 9, 2008

You have to admit things now are an improvement over years ago. My parents have lived near Canton their entire lives and they said it wasn’t all that long ago that the smoke coming from the mill was solid black all the time. The smell was supposedly much, much worse and cars parked nearby for any length of time often had a dark soot-like substance that had settled on them after a few hours. It’s obviously not that bad now, so it has been cleaned up over the years.

But the people who want the mill cleaned up (including those in Tennessee who constantly complain about water pollution from the mill) will not be satisfied until the mill is completely shut down. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it is shut down sometime in the next ten years. When it is shut down, the quality of life for the kids will improve, I guess, because they’ll all have to move somewhere else away from Canton. There won’t BE a Canton when the mill closes. Heck, there almost isn’t one now.

Also, I live about 3 miles away, and most of the time I can’t smell the plant. Occasionally the smell does drift in this direction, but I seriously doubt that’s Blue Ridge you’re smelling 19 miles away, Jeff.

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Carole December 9, 2008

Yes, they are subject to toxic air. North Canton Elementary has been subject to toxic air for about 40 years and is located just one mile from the mill. Bethel Christian Academy has been there for quite a few years now, in the downtown area, and sits literally right next to the paper mill. It may be a good story, but it isn’t ‘new’ news. Residents of Canton are clearly aware of the situation and their only options are to either stay or go. The mill has been there for about 100 years and may be there another 100. I’ve lived there my whole life and have considered moving due to the smell. For most people born and raised there, it’s something that is accepted and sometimes joked about. But it really isn’t funny. After all these years it is finally getting to me. Hopefully the town government and the mill will continue to work toward cleaning things up and doing the best job possible.

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Rick December 9, 2008

It is time for Canton Aldermen, and Haywood County Commission to get things rolling again. Jobs are important, but the reason we are working is for the better lives of our children. We must have both. This deed must not go unabated. Let’s do the hard work this time and not continue to be a waste dump like the ones seen in third world countries. Let us know what we must do.

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Blub December 9, 2008

I haven’t seen the story either on the AC-T site. Asleep at the wheel Fernandez? This is an easy pick up story. Kind of embarrassing USAT scoops you in your own backyard and apparently doesn’t give you a heads up.

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Jeff December 9, 2008

For anyone who has made an eye-watering visit to Canton, this cannot possibly come as a surprise. I live approximately 19 miles due east of the plant and some mornings the stench is unbearable. Raising kids in that town is borderline child-abuse.

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No One In Particular December 9, 2008

Sigh…yet another attempt to tell us how dangerous the paper mill is. They’re gonna keep this crap up and get it closed down. Then residents of Haywood County can just watch the town of Canton and a large portion of the surrounding area just drift away and turn into a ghost town. As if we need to lose more jobs in this economy…

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