Pollution in Fernandina Beach (real estate, house, asbestos)

[Rainika]

We are considering moving to Fernandina Beach, and looking for updated information about pollution from the paper mills regarding air pollution, asthma etc. I can't find anything recent. I have read about asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cases connected with Rayonier andSmurfit-Stone (now Rock-Tenn). Have these businesses cleaned up or are they still posing health risks to the residents. I have tried to research but cannot come up with any recent facts about air and water pollution on the island. I would not want to make this move and then find out that our health is now compromised. Thanks for any info.

[Tomahawk79]

If the mills are still active, then they are still polluting and still an eye sore on the north end of the island. Unfortunately we all still need these stinking things as we continue to use paper products on a daily basis. But they should be required to be in more isolated areas, especially since nobody seems to know for sure what health risks they do actually impose. Personally, I would not live anywhere near one. On the other hand, you can probably get a good deal on a house nearby...and if the mills are ever closed and replaced by something like a nice cruise port or waterfront whatever...the surrounding real estate value would probably skyrocket.

[Wunderkinder]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk79

But they should be required to be in more isolated areas

When the mills were first built they were in more isolated areas.

[Rainika]

My understanding is that the mills are by the historic district, which was there way before the mills, so they were allowed to be built right next to the most populated part of the island. Are they still a danger to health or have they been forced to clean up or close? These types of businesses in other parts of the country have been required to come into compliance with new pollution regulations or close. Does Florida have regulations like this or are businesses allowed free reign?

[hornsch]

Of course to stay operating both mills comply with the latest standards and regulations. For example boiler MACT. The emissions, also very closely regulated, you see is steam. The mills probably produce and consume a great percentage of the area's energy, pay a great deal of taxes, and employ a lot of residents that have been working there for generations.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by hornsch

Of course to stay operating both mills comply with the latest standards and regulations. For example boiler MACT. The emissions, also very closely regulated, you see is steam. The mills probably produce and consume a great percentage of the area's energy, pay a great deal of taxes, and employ a lot of residents that have been working there for generations.

Fernandina Beach has a population of approximately 12,000. Rayonier (on-island) employs about 280 people. RockTenn employs about 440.

It is absolutely true that both mills comply with the latest standards (and standards are much stricter now than they used to be.) An acquaintance of mine recently looked into this and was satisfied with the answers he obtained. You can smell the mills during fall/winter. You can always see them, too, of course.
And the log trucks are huge, sometimes drop debris, and do not always stop at red lights.

If the mills ever do close, this could indeed transform Amelia Island into another Aspen or Santa Fe, though probably not right away.
For now, people who do not want to smell the mills live on the south end of the island.

You can always contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

[ssclulow]

I don't understand why a filtering process hasn't been found to eliminate the really terrible smell coming from the mills. Wind direction seems to really impact where the smell is worst.

[Irishtom29]

People need good paying industrial jobs and our nation needs them. Maybe some would have the millhands and the tradesmen who service the mills (when I was a boilermaker I made serious money working turnarounds in paper mills in Wisconsin and Michigan) replaced by restaurant counter help and clerks in cute antique shops.

[Rainika]

Thanks for the replies. Seems that the Mills smell bad but are not actually dangerous to health? When is the smell the worst, if it can be pinpointed. A certain season or time of day or day of the week? I am planning a visit sometime around the new year, would I be able to smell it at its worst then? I am hoping I can smell it for myself before making a decision about where to locate.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by ssclulow

I don't understand why a filtering process hasn't been found to eliminate the really terrible smell coming from the mills. Wind direction seems to really impact where the smell is worst.

My company may have a solution for that shortly.