12 Responses to “Coal loading photos this morning”

1. Russ Maddox
   October 20th, 2009 @ 6:14 pm

   Thanks, Hig.

   Anybody else have observations or concerns to share?

   We can all be part of a solution or continue being part of the problem by not speaking out.

   Simply using best available technologies could end this problem once and for all.

2. Lynn Hettick
   October 20th, 2009 @ 10:21 pm

   Thanks for the great pictures it is really cool seeing the steam come off the coal pile. It was raining also so these pictures are great. I support the coal operation in Seward. Keeps Seward people employed without stimulus money. What a great concept. Keep up the good work. Lynn

3. CHRIS
   October 21st, 2009 @ 1:59 pm

   Great photos of the ship and the equipment! The steam that you clearly see is caused from the difference in temperature between the air and the coal. Do you realize that this coal is low in sulfur? Using this coal helps minimize sulfur emissions and is great for the environment! Seward should be very pleased to be able to have this coal terminal in their port! Many local jobs are a direct result of this terminal as well as other businesses that benefit from the ships coming to load here. Various consultants and other support personnel come to town for these ship loadings, staying in the local hotels, eating at local restaurants, buying coffee at the many local coffee shops, and even buying tourist t-shirts!

4. Phil Kaluza
   October 21st, 2009 @ 9:06 pm

   Chris,

   yes, we have low sulfur coal, but beyond that it’s low btu content makes it almost useless except for countries that need to blend our low grade, low sulfur coal, with theirs to meet their sulfur standards. Ultimately they are burning much higher sulfur content coal and we are the recepients of the fall out. It’s not all roses.

5. Bruce Hedlund
   October 22nd, 2009 @ 10:37 am

   Too bad Usabelli Coal has been such a dirty neighbor.Just ask the boat owners who have to scrub the coal dust from their boats each year. When the coal facility was built, there was a provision to install and maintain a system for abating the dust. That never happened. Each time the city would insist, the coal company would threaten to relocate the opperation elsewhere. The same thing happened when tax and fee increases were brought up.

6. Tim Sczawinski
   October 22nd, 2009 @ 10:51 am

   Sorry guys it’s not steam. I have photos of a similar nature from the coal loading operation two weeks ago and it was shirtsleeve warm on those nights.
   Anyone else notice that loading ops are done after the sun goes down? Pretty hard to see dust clouds in the dark. But their own on site lights backlight the dust clouds.
   Sadly every man, woman and child is breathing in dust particles in the downwind area. And every person working at the yard should go get a chest Xray. If you have been exposed the tiny black particles will show up quite clearly. Get enough of them and it is called black lung disease. Once in your lungs it never comes out.
   Of course if it’s just steam there will be nothing. Any takers?

7. noname
   October 23rd, 2009 @ 6:10 am

   I’m not sure where some get their information, but when a vessel is in port the loading is a 24 hour operation until it is completed around 5 days. The reason you say why they only load at night is because it is steam and the temp in the evening is lower and the coal temp stays the same creating the steam. You don’t see much of that during the day even though they are loading because the air and coal temps are closer together and therefore no steam.

8. nameless
   October 23rd, 2009 @ 7:09 am

   I really enjoyed these pictures. The process of loading the coal ship I find to be very interesting. The men and women who work at the terminal work very hard to get these ships loaded along with satisfying the “enviromental” issues involved in the process.

9. FED UP!
   October 23rd, 2009 @ 10:50 pm

   I’ve read numerous articles both online and in the local newspaper about this coal transfer facility. It seems these days nobody needs to actually have facts to publish articles. We no longer have news, we have opinions posing as facts that are published without checking if they are true. Since the coal transfer facility opened in 1984, have there been any recorded negative impacts on people or the wildlife? How much glacial silt is the community cleaning off of our cars and boats compared to coal dust? These are facts I would like to know and not what some people BELIEVE.

10. Andy
    October 24th, 2009 @ 6:56 am

    Hey Fed Up-
    This site is full of unchecked opinions. Its the wikipedia of news! But what makes it unique and relevant is that anyone can post anything and its up to all of us take it as fact or call bs. But don’t come here expecting unbiased news.
    Your questions are really good and they get to the root of the debate. And they raise a grave concern that I think the town has neglected since its founding. Glacial Silt. We have a dirty neighbor on the other side of the mountain and its depositing silt in our community. I think that the silt must be stopped at the source. Glaciers. Any suggestions?

11. Dave Paperman
    October 24th, 2009 @ 12:46 pm

    Yeah. Why can’t we just get our news Fair and Balanced, like Fox. They don’t have any bias…

    ROTFLOL!!!! (rolling on the floor laughing out loud)

    As far as negative effects from the coal loading facility, check the windowsills of any home south of the facility. I have lived close to large gravel mines (Sand Lake in Anchorage) and in much drier climates where airborne particulates are a known concern (Fairbanks). I have never seen the buildup of black dust on the inside of windows in ANY place I have lived. While this isn’t a direct health issue, it is proof of airborne particulates that even without advanced medical knowledge, I can safely say don’t belong in my lungs.

    While we ALL should agree that it is important to have good jobs and a healthy community, we should also be able to look at things objectively. I have several friends who work at the facility and I don’t want them to lose their jobs or have reduced hours. I just want the corporate managers who don’t live here (AKRR and Aurora) to truly do what is scientifically responsible to mitigate impacts on the community – This will hurt their bottom line, but will prove to the community that they want to be a good neighbor. And will bring community goodwill for a long and mutually prosperous relationship together.

12. Russ
    October 29th, 2009 @ 7:28 am

    RBCA and groundtruthtrekking recently installed a webcam here in Seward to better assess our dust problems and their sources.

    http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/coalcam/

    You’ll have to download Microsoft Silverlight but is quick and safe.

    (in case this doesn’t publish the link it is:

    W W W dot groundtruthtrekking dot org slash coalcam slash)

    Live and archived images of the coal facility are now online so anyone can see it for themselves any time they want. In the camera’s first night up and running it captured images of dust, (or is it steam?) pouring over the bay from the ship. See for yourself. Oct 22

    You be the judge.