VANCOUVER, Wash. — A gravel lot near Northeast 101st Street and 72nd Avenue in north Vancouver is where construction materials company Knife River is thinking about building its next concrete plant. But the idea is not sitting well with some neighbors.
"It's bizarre," said Jan Kelly on the idea of putting an industrial plant so closed to an established neighborhood. "It's absolutely bizarre."
Kelly and others shared their concerns of the proposed concrete plant at a Battle Ground School Board meeting this week.
"Concrete batch plants have a tendency to coat the entire area — roofs, cars, and trees," one man said.
Silica dust is the concern. It is troubling since at least two schools, Brush Prairie High School and the Center for Agriculture, Science, and Environmental Education, are not far from the proposed site of the concrete plant.
A registered respiratory therapist addressed silica dust at a Clark County Council meeting in January.
"What can come from inhaling silica dust?" the man asked. "The disease process would be silicosis, which occurs when the lungs harden and develop scarring around the inhaled and entrapped silica particles, decreasing the lung tissue compliance and elasticity."
Another man at the same meeting mentioned additional concerns about the proposed concrete plant.
"One of the major problems we've got is the 95-foot cement silo that'll be on this parcel, so we have concerns about obstruction of view and noise," he said.
KGW reached out to Knife River for a comment and a spokesperson said the company is exploring an opportunity to provide north Vancouver customers with ready mix concrete from an industrial-zoned property, a concept shared at a virtual neighborhood meeting in early January.
The spokesperson went on to say that a permit application has not yet been submitted. But neighbors fear it's only matter of time before one is.
"It's going to effect a five-mile radius so we need everyone to object to this," Kelly said.