ROXUL Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Jefferson County Woman Walks 70 Miles Across Denmark To Protest Rockwool

Residents in the Eastern Panhandle continue to protest Denmark-based, stone wool manufacturing facility, Rockwool. For more than a year now, hundreds of residents still rally at commission and town council meetings in Jefferson County and at the Rockwool construction site – in an effort to stop the plant from being built.

Recently, a Shepherdstown resident traveled to Denmark to walk 70 miles from Kalundborg to Copenhagen to protest the facility.

Tracy Danzey is a mother of an 8-year-old and a registered nurse. She’s also the president of the anti-Rockwool group, Resist Rockwool. A few years ago, one of her legs had to be amputated after contracting a rare form of bone cancer, which she said was caused by pollution from heavy industry in her former home of Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Shepherdstown resident Tracy Danzey in Denmark.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting spoke with Danzey via Skype, just before she finished her 11-day walk over the weekend.

“I am walking in the American tradition of marching for justice,” Danzey said in the interview. “My experience of being poisoned by industry is a huge motivator. As a nurse, my focus is often on health and the health of the community around me.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting reached out to Rockwool for comment. Rockwool spokesperson Michael Zarin emailed a statement stating Rockwool invited Danzey to their headquarters in Denmark. He said the Danish factory uses the same core technology that will be used in Jefferson County.

“It is unfortunate that Tracy Danzey did not accept our invitation to visit the ROCKWOOL factory in northern Denmark or meet with us at our headquarters,” Zarin said via email. “The Danish factory uses the same core technology as will be used in Jefferson County. This would have been a prime opportunity for Ms. Danzey to see first-hand a similar facility in operation.”

Danzey did not accept that invitation, but instead invited Rockwool to visit Jefferson County to address community concerns.

“I came here to speak with the Danish people,” Danzey said via text message to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “Rockwool has had over a year to reach out and be willing to chat, and they have consistently been unavailable and dishonest to our citizenry and representation. Additionally, though I can speak to the health concerns as a nurse, and the potential violation of the industry from a personal health standpoint, I would not feel comfortable touring a facility and representing my community in this way alone. I am not an industrial specialist and would have to depend on what I was being told. [Rockwool] has been so dishonest with our community that it would only be proper that some of our community’s own specialists attend these tours and meetings with me.”

Rockwool in Ranson, Jefferson County is expected to offer 150 new jobs and be completed by mid-2020, according to Rockwool’s North American President Trent Ogilvie.

The facility would feature two, 21-story smokestacks releasing a range of chemicals and will be located just a few miles from four public schools.

Residents are concerned about the potential health and environmental risks to the area. Rockwool states their technology is state of the art and that air quality is a top priority.

“Air quality is one of our top priorities & primary reason for constructing tall stacks in Ranson,” Rockwool said on their Twitter page on Aug. 3, 2018. “Tall stacks improve the dispersion of the steam plume and thus reduce particulate and other matter that might reach people on the ground.”

Since the facility broke ground in June 2018, there have been several pending lawsuits filed from opposition groups, rallies and an overall division within communities in the Eastern Panhandle.

W.Va. DEP Holds Public Hearing On Rockwool Stormwater Permits

More than 100 people spoke at a public hearing in Shepherdstown this week hosted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

The hearing was for two proposed stormwater-related permits to be issued to Denmark-based Rockwool in Ranson, Jefferson County.

Jefferson County’s predominantly karst geology – a porous, spongy type of rock that is prone to sinkholes – was a major talking point at Wednesday night’s public hearing.

“Our karst geology should not be a toilet for Rockwool’s contaminants,” local resident Ruth Hatcher said from the podium of the Storer Ballroom in Shepherd University’s Student Center.

Hatcher was one of more than 100 speakers at the DEP’s hearing who spoke out against issuing two stormwater management permits to Rockwool.

Rockwool, a stone wool manufacturing plant that is currently under construction in Ranson and has drawn heated debate across the region for more than a year, is requesting for its Construction Stormwater Permit (WVR108876) to be reissued. The permit requires regulation of erosion control and stormwater runoff during construction of a facility.

Rockwool is also requesting an Industrial Stormwater Permit (WVG611896), that would regulate stormwater after construction is complete.

But residents are concerned that if an accident occurs, the runoff would affect the area’s karst geology, seeping into the ground and contaminating drinking water for a large portion of Jefferson County residents.

Out of the more than 100 speakers, only one person spoke in favor of the stormwater permits.

Those opposed to Rockwool are hopeful that if the permits are not issued, it could effectively stop construction of the Rockwool plant.

The public comment period ends at 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2019.

Public comments can be submitted via email at dep.comments@wv.gov.

Let's Talk Rockwool, A Discussion with Del. Sammi Brown

Rockwool has become a household name in the Eastern Panhandle, and it sparks a flurry of discussion and debate.

This European-based stone wool manufacturing plant is currently under construction in Ranson, Jefferson County despite pushback from residents on the grounds of environmental concerns and the plant’s proximity to a nearby elementary school.

Jefferson County Dels. John Doyle and Sammi Brown, both Democrats, beat their Republican incumbents during the 2018 election, right in the middle of rising contentions around the plant.

As we approach one-year since the start of public outcry, West Virginia Public Broadcasting sat down with Del. Brown, whose district includes those directly impacted by Rockwool.

We discuss the magnitude the plant played in last year’s election, how Rockwool brought people together but also created division; we discuss Brown’s recent arrest while protesting the plant, and we explore what the fight for those opposed looks like going forward.

Air Pollution Discussion Sparks More Concern About Potential Rockwool Plant Impacts

Community members from Jefferson County, West Virginia and nearby areas came together last weekend to hear from scientific experts from around the country about air pollution and its impacts. The event’s aim was to speak “plainly” about the issue, specifically as it pertains to Rockwool – a stone wool manufacturing company setting up shop in Jefferson County.

Ten scientists and researchers who study public health, air quality, and environmental health spoke in Harpers Ferry Saturday.

The symposium called “Educate, Empower, Protect: Our Health and Environment” was sponsored by the Jefferson County group, Rural Agricultural Defenders as well as the West Virginia Public Health Association.

“One of the purposes of the symposium was to be very welcoming to all points of view and not just anti-Rockwool point of view. They already have their position and so does everybody else, but science can sometimes transcend that,” Shenandoah Junction resident and lead organizer Patricia Stephenson said. “And maybe it is a grounds for us to open up a dialogue, so we can have a little more give and take about where the concerns are and the reality of the situation.”

Rockwool is a Denmark-based company that is in the process of building a stone wool manufacturing plant in Jefferson County across the street from an elementary school. It will feature two, 21-story smokestacks releasing a range of chemicals.

The issue has sparked heated debate within the region – especially over the question of how it will affect air quality and the school children nearby.

The consensus among Saturday’s speakers was that the plant’s emissions would affect the area in a negative way, but by how much and in what way would only be known over time. Speakers noted air pollution levels fluctuate every day and are affected by all sorts of things; from our cars, pesticides, plants, hospitals even, and of course industry.

And if two people breathe in air pollution – each person will respond differently.

“The problem is, what’s on [an air quality] permit and what comes out of a [smokestack] are not always the same,” Jaime Hart said. Hart was one of the ten speakers. She’s an epidemiologist and assistant professor at the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard University Medical School and School of Public Health.

“I think it’s often the first couple years of an industry to know what’s really coming out, and is that what was predicted? Or are there factors that mean that even though somebody has done the work to put in the scrubber that was required, or controlled technology that were required; are they working?”

Hart noted it’s important to also look at the whole picture of potential air pollutants when trying to understand effects, and not just at what might be coming out of the stacks; to note things like weather patterns, temperature, the lay of the land, or increased traffic in and out of the plant.

Another speaker, Laura Anderko, is a professor and endowed chair at Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies and the director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment.

Anderko said there’s always give and take when industry sets up in urban or rural areas – jobs versus pollution, and decisions have to be made when considering safety of children.

“There’s ways to do workarounds; bringing the kids in during those peaks in pollution, but in the end, is that really what we want?” she said. “We want kids to play outside, we want kids to enjoy nature and the outdoors and not worry that they’re going to develop asthma or ADHD, or any range of neurological deficits just as a result of going to school.”

Anderko said that while Rockwool may have followed the letter of the law in terms of federal and state environmental regulations, she argued these regulations are not protective enough of vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.

All ten speakers encouraged residents to work together and purchase their own air quality monitors and collect their own data now and after Rockwool is built. But they also cautioned to make sure data collected is accurate, otherwise state and federal officials would not take their research seriously.

Rockwool’s air quality permit was approved by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection last April. The plant is expected to be operational by mid-2020.

‘We Are Going to Stop Rockwool' – Open House Events Ignite More Pushback in Jefferson County

The European-based insulation manufacturing company Rockwool held a handful of community open houses last week at the Jefferson County Community Center. The aim was to better-connect with residents, many of whom don’t want the company to locate in the Eastern Panhandle. Rockwool’s final open house drew a crowd of hundreds who rallied outside to protest the plant.

Dozens of “Stop Rockwool” or “No Toxic Rockwool” banners and signs lined car windows, trucks, or were held by protesters. They chanted and cheered, and even sang “Almost Heaven” by John Denver.

These residents say they’re angry and scared. They’ve voiced concerns about the plant’s impact on air quality and health, which is slated to be built just a few miles from four public schools and neighborhoods, and it will have two smokestacks.

“Children will be affected by the toxins that are put [out by] this. I don’t care what Rockwool says,” said Harpers Ferry resident Linda Bishop. “This is not what we want here.”

The issue has also attracted nearby out-of-state folks like David Pratt of Winchester, Virginia. Pratt said the company will affect the entire tri-state region, not just West Virginia.

“The pollution from this plant will travel,” Pratt said. “It’ll travel 30, 35 miles, and no matter what promises they make, the bottom line is, it is pumping pollution in our air, and we don’t want it in our area.”

Pratt said he thinks the region, including the Eastern Panhandle, would benefit better from jobs in agribusiness and tourism rather than the manufacturing industry.

“What we didn’t do enough of obviously is engage with everybody,” said Rockwool’s North American President Trent Ogilvie at one of the open houses. “We missed a part of this community in our communication and didn’t answer their questions well enough. So, we’re doing that. We want to get everybody’s questions, get the facts, and try to earn people’s trust.”

Who is Rockwool?

The Rockwool Group has been around for 80 years.

News of the company coming to Jefferson County first hit local newspapers and West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s airwaves in July of last year.

The company touts itself as ‘green’, using state-of-the art technology to clean and melt down basalt rock and recycled slag, and ‘spin’ the fibers in a fashion, kind of like how cotton candy is made. The company plans to recycle water it uses and employ a storm water management system.

But there will be two smokestacks releasing a range of chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde. Rockwool’s Air Quality Permit was approved by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in April.

The facility in Ranson is slated to offer 150 jobs, ranging from entry level operators, electricians and welders, to management positions.

Entry level positions will make $17 per hour. Managers will have an annual salary of around $85,000.

Rockwool said all employees will receive full, family health benefits, a 401k, and two-weeks paid vacation.

Rockwool’s Community Open Houses

Rockwool held four community open houses last week.

Tables lined the Jefferson County Community Center’s gymnasium, and it was structured similarly to a job fair. Videos of testimonials looped on monitors. Product demonstrations and air quality charts were displayed. And several Rockwool employees from Canada and Denmark were available to chat.

But not many protesters went inside.

Some people did though, like Shepherdstown resident Lynn Wagner. She found it disturbing.

“It’s very pretty, and it sounds really good, but you have to look behind that and see what the reality is in terms of the toxic release into our small, lovely community that’s located in a valley,” Wagner said. “Jefferson County is an area that’s agriculture, it’s tourism, and [Rockwool] doesn’t fit into this landscape. Period.”

Other residents had a different reaction. Kearneysville resident Barbara Fuller was not a protestor, but shared concerns about emissions.

“The hard questions of, ‘are you going to poison us?’ were met with compassion. No snark. I was genuinely just…I was impressed,” she said.

Fuller said she’s not 100 percent on-board yet and wants to do her own research.

Rockwool’s North American President Trent Ogilvie said his company will be installing air monitoring stations near the Ranson plant that the public will be able to access.

One of the stations at a Rockwool Community Open House. Rockwool’s insulation product is fire and water resistant.

“We’re going to hire and make sure the public knows that there’s an independent somebody, I don’t know who, to tell us where the most sensitive place [is] to put [the air monitoring stations],” Ogilvie explained. “We’ll make sure the information’s public. We’ll make sure there’s a third party attesting to the information and do everything we can to make sure people don’t think we’re just making up data or monitoring [ourselves], because it won’t be.”

He also hopes to foster better communication between Rockwool and Jefferson County residents, beyond the open houses and after construction is complete.

“We’re forming a stakeholder group of eighteen, a cross-section of the community,” he said. “Eighteen people that will meet every month, advise us, [and] tell us concerns they’re hearing. It won’t end after the factory starts either. We’ll always have a really enhanced community relations program.”

A Rockwool spokesperson said 200 people from the area attended the open houses. Meanwhile, one online protest group has grown to include nearly 8,000 people.

In a statement handed out by members of that group, members said Rockwool is “completely wrong for Jefferson County. There is nothing Rockwool can say that will change that. We will never agree that’s a good idea no matter how many open houses Rockwool holds.”

The Ranson plant broke ground in June and is expected to have completed construction by 2020.

Rockwool Reaches Out to Jefferson County Residents Through Community Open Houses

There’s been contention in recent weeks in Jefferson County between thousands of residents and a new manufacturing plant being built called Rockwool. In response to the pushback, the Denmark-based company has scheduled community open houses through Saturday to engage with community members.

Rockwool is a European-based company that makes stone wool insulation. The product is made from basalt rock and recycled slag and is fire and water resistant. The facility in Ranson, Jefferson County is the second the company has built in the U.S., and it’ll offer 150 jobs.

But thousands in the community are upset. The plant will feature two smokestacks and will be located just a few miles from four public schools.

Rockwool held the first of four community open houses Thursday at the Jefferson County Community Center in Shenandoah Junction.

Rockwool’s North American President Trent Ogilvie said he hopes to connect with residents to allay their fears.

“What we didn’t do enough of is engage with everybody,” Ogilvie said. “We missed a part of this community in our communication and didn’t answer their questions well enough. We want to get everybody’s questions, get the facts, and try to earn people’s trust.”

Rockwool filed for its Air Quality Permit with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection last year and was approved in April.

But residents are still concerned about the impact on air quality.

Ogilvie said the Ranson plant will feature air monitoring stations around the facility with publicly available data. He also hopes to foster better communication between Rockwool and Jefferson County beyond the open houses.

There will be three more Rockwool community open houses located at:

Jefferson County Community Center, 235 Sam Michals Rd, Shenandoah Junction, W.Va.

Friday, August 24:

10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 25:

10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

A rally against the plant is also scheduled for Saturday morning at 10:00 outside the Jefferson County Community Center.