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The EPA plans to take a closer look at the manganese levels of schools which are near — and downriver from — a local manufacturing plant
 VIENNA, WV — “Wednesday was is the last day before the holiday break for youngsters at Vienna’s Neale Elementary School.
And while Neale is among the monitoring points for air for sites near Washington County’s Eramet ferroalloy plant, even when the kids are outdoors, the school takes precautions to ensure they aren’t affected by the manganese emissions the plant has had for years. One way is by laying mulch in the area around the school’s playground.
‘It’s a metal particle, and it wouldn’t land on the ground,’ says Neale Principal Michael Fling. ‘And if we’re putting on new mulch, we’re actually covering it up, and the exposure level would be reduced.’”
— Brad Bauer, WTAP
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 Eramet in Marietta, Ohio VIENNA, WV — “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday the air around a Wood County elementary school requires further monitoring because sampling showed high levels of manganese.
The agency said there’s no immediate health concern for children at Neale Elementary in Vienna, or at two other schools across the Ohio River — Warren Elementary and The Ohio Valley Educational Service Center in Marietta, Ohio.
All three are affected by Eramet Marietta Inc., an Ohio metallurgical manufacturing plant that is the nation’s largest emitter of manganese.”
— Associated Press
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 MARIETTA — “The latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Toxic Release Inventory report indicates the amount of toxic substances released by facilities in Washington County decreased by 4.9 million pounds from 2008 to 2009…
Eramet Marietta’s total on- and off-site toxic releases were 5.5 million pounds in 2008, but the latest TRI report shows that figure dropped to 3.6 million pounds in 2009.
Eramet spokeswoman Joy Frank-Collins noted some of that reduction was due to the lagging economy in 2009.
‘But in 2008 the company also renovated furnace No. 1, which resulted in a lot of emissions reduction for that furnace as well as for the entire plant,’ she said. ‘And in 2008 we announced our vision for the future of the plant that included programs to improve our environmental and operational technologies. Now we’re starting to see data resulting from some of those improvements.’”
— Sam Shawver, Marietta Times
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 PARKERSBURG — “The Communities Actively Researching Exposure Study on the neurological effects of metals on children, particularly manganese, is being expanded into Wood County, officials announced Wednesday.
Coordinated by the University of Cincinnati with the Neighbors for Clean Air program, schools in Marietta and Cambridge and local health departments, the study tests children aged 7-9 on their ability to learn and coordinate movements. The study started two years ago in Marietta.
The study will determine what neurological problems are caused by the exposure to manganese, primarily airborne originating from the Eramet plant on Ohio 7 north of Belpre, said Dick Wittberg, executive director of the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department. Hopefully there is no impact, he said.
‘That’s what I’m hoping to find out in the study,’ Wittberg said.
The project is spearheaded by principal investigator Dr. Erin Haynes from the University of Cincinnati, who is studying data obtained from monitoring stations. Preliminary sampling shows the concentration of manganese in the Marietta area are five times greater than in Cambridge, she said.”
— Jess Mancini, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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 Dr. Erin Haynes speaks to Mid-Ohio Valley residents Monday about a study on manganese pollution. VIENNA, WV — “An ongoing study on the health effects of airborne manganese on Mid-Ohio Valley children is expanding to include Wood County participants.
Erin Haynes, assistant professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati, spoke to about 50 Mid-Ohio Valley residents Monday at the Vienna Public Library about the multi-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health…
Interest in the study began in the 1990s, when Washington County resident Caroline Beidler built her dream home in the woods about four miles from the Eramet plant. After noticing a strong industrial odor, she contacted the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and starting a letter-writing campaign to the plant’s management, which, she said, was unwilling to meet with Beidler at the time.
She organized Neighbors For Clean Air, a group of citizens who wanted answers. Since then, Eramet has opened the lines of communication and began a multi-million dollar renovation project to improve the plant, Beidler said.”
— Natalee Seely, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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 VIENNA, WV — “A University of Cincinnati researcher will present additional findings about the air quality in the region Monday at the Vienna Public Library.
Erin Haynes of the University of Cincinnati will discuss her preliminary findings on the effects of heavy metals such as manganese, lead and chromium polluting the air of the Mid-Ohio Valley 7 p.m. Monday in the library’s meeting room…
Haynes is an assistant professor of environmental health at UC and has been leading a multi-year study of the effects of airborne manganese, lead and chromium on 7-to-8-year-old children in the vicinity of Eramet’s Marietta plant. Eramet is a major producer of manganese, ferroalloys and ranks first among the nation’s emitters of manganese, which blows across the Ohio River into Wood County.”
— Brett Dunlap, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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MARIETTA— “The preliminary results of the first comprehensive environmental study of manganese-exposed adults in the U.S. were discussed during a public meeting Thursday evening at Marietta College.
The results showed those who live within 2.5 miles of Eramet on Ohio 7 are exposed to higher levels of manganese and they also scored worse on neuropsychological tests
Still, the overall results do not indicate there are negative health effects from airborne and blood manganese in Marietta residents.
About 50 people attended the meeting, including Marietta residents Beth and Toby Eddy. The couple said they were a little uneasy going into the meeting because they didn’t know what to expect, but they felt relieved at the end.”
— Ashley Hill, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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 MARIETTA — “New information from a long-awaited study on the effects of airborne manganese is set to be presented later this month to those in the Marietta area.
Rosemarie Bowler, a neuropsychologist from San Francisco State University, will be in town June 24, along with others involved in the study, which was recommended by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and funded through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
‘We’re coming to Marietta to give feedback to the community on our preliminary results,’ Bowler said.
The presentation is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. at Marietta College and will include time for questions.”
— Kate York, Marietta Times
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MARIETTA – “The shutdown of Eramet Marietta’s No. 18 ferromanganese furnace due to an operational incident Sunday evening will apparently impact the company’s production schedule for an as-yet undetermined period of time.
On Monday Eramet officials declared a ‘force majeure event’ – an unanticipated and uncontrollable incident that may affect the company’s ability to fulfill its contracts.
‘When there’s an inability to deliver a product, a force majeure declaration provides some protection for the company and allows us to set the wheels in motion to allocate some portions of the product to our customers,’ said Joy Frank-Collins, spokeswoman for Eramet Marietta.
She said no timeframe has been established for how long the force majeure declaration will remain in effect,”
— Sam Shawver, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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MARIETTA – “An incident at Eramet over the weekend has left one furnace off line and started an internal investigation.”
“Eramet spokes people tell us that at roughly 8:00 Sunday night a “incident” caused damage to furnace number 18. Officials at the plant say they are not able to characterize the incident as an explosion, but property damage did result.”
“Eramet has launched an internal investigation into the incident. No injuries were reported.”
- Erin Pulsanti, WTAP News
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