Fernandina Bch Mills (pollution?) (Fernandina Beach, Yulee: home, buy, bankruptcy)

[Marshhome]

I have just moved onto Amelia Island from Yulee, and am about 1 1/2 mile due south from the two mills. This morning the air was like a thick stinky fog and I could hardly go outside. I have also noticed that since I moved onto the island, I have started coughing a lot (which I never do). One of the locals that has been a nurse for a long time, tells me that there is a higher than normal rate of cancer and heart issues on the island. SOoo, I looked on scorecard.org and found that Smurfitt is rated as No 6 in TRI pollution. What have I gotten myself into??

[BlueWillowPlate]

I don't mean to be *deliberately* rude, but are you for real?
IMHO your post is either provocative trolling or a display of vast ignorance.
Anyone in Yulee would at the very least know about Rayonier's existence.
Smurfit and Rayonier are not exactly unknown, unseen entities here.
The beaches are clean
Issues with the mill(s) are real. (pdf file) (http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wqssp/nutrients/docs/estuarine/bunnell/nassau_stmarys_estuary_082710.pdf - broken link)
There are concerns for the St Johns River as well. None of this is obscure information.
Additionally, living on the marsh can sometimes be a 'naturally' smelly experience. Again, this is not unheard of information.
As for the nurse (he/she is still living on the island?) story about heart/cancer issues, none of the medical people I know have told me anything like that, but who knows.
I have a feeling that at least one of the mills will eventually close, Smurfit already filed for bankruptcy once. This may be some small comfort to you.

[Marshhome]

No need for ad hominems here. I was merely raising a health concern since smelling the mill here real strong for a few days. I also never said that I didn't know about the mills while living in Yulee, but didn't realize how bad the smell could be (and other facts concerning them I have recently discovered). What I found out from talking to folks is that when the winds shift to north or west (or the air is stagnant), the mills can be real strong. During my many times on the island, I had not smelled them as bad as they were in my area recently. I also hear that the winter can be bad in this respect.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Sorry, Marsh, I thought you might be someone with a personal agenda being disingenuous--it does happen here from time to time.

I do notice the mill(s) more in winter. I don't know that I'd call it 'really bad.' It never goes on and on.
If it were really bad, we would not still be living here. My husband spent almost a year here before our son and I followed, and we bought our house.
There has never been a day where we "could hardly go outside."

I have always been ambivalent about the pulp mills (and posted about it here before). Yes, pulp mills are unsightly and sometimes stinky, and those lumber trucks raging down A1A can be dangerous. No doubt the mill owners are more concerned about profit than pollution--but they employ quite a few local people.

Amelia Island in general and Fernandina in particular have been in a phase of self-examination and transition, but at the same time, we are now in economic doldrums.

The challenge is to retain the island's unique atmosphere (and preserve our middle class) while embracing the future.

[JayMcFly]

Something very fishy about this topic. Does anyone agree?

[Marshhome]

If you find the topic concerning legitimate pollution/health concerns fishy, then I find that even more 'fishy.' BTW, I smelled the mills very strongly in the last couple days (in the mornings mostly) since the wind has shifted. I definately have to shut the windows or I start coughing.

[trobesmom]

I also recently moved to Amelia Island and have been smelling the mill air. I can't even go outside a lot of the mornings, it's so bad. That can't be healthy. I'm going to try contacting the EPA and see what they have to say. Especially since there are two mills. And how might it be affecting our water as well?

[BlueWillowPlate]

I've smelled them too a few mornings the past week or so.
Not this morning.
McFly, I was a bit suspicious too, because it is amazing to me that someone would move here, buy a home and months later decide they don't like the mills.
But I suppose it happens.
The EPA is watching Smurfit.
And Rayonier.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
The water is worse than the air (we did plunk down a couple thousand dollars, a one-time deal, on water treatment.)

Read the comments on that site. They remind me so much of the comments in the CD Florida forum. One will praise the many virtues of Fernandina, while another will say she's been here 19 years and if she had to do it all over again, she never would have moved here.

The truth is that Fernandina is neither a pristine paradise nor a deathly hellhole, but when it comes to the internet in general and the Florida forum in particular, the malcontents often make the most noise.

Do I like the mill smell? Heck no. But it never seems to last that long. It may be that at least Smurfit will eventually close, I don't know for sure though.

[swilkes3]

Hi, I just found this site. We like Fernandina Beach but, honestly, don't know much about it. I am an artist and I like the feel. It also seems affordable right now for a home we would visit every couple of months in the beginning. This is the first I've heard about mills etc. I grew up near a papermill that "stunk" every now and then but not consistently. That I can handle. Air and water pollution are NOs. Please let me know what you know about these and any other issues. Hope to be down there and look around some next week. Thanks.

[JBtwinz]

We have been here a while and the north end near the mills seem to get the mill smells late in the year and early spring. I am by no means any type of expert, just relating what locals have told us when we first moved here. Good Luck