RESIDENTS who live next door to a steelworks say their homes are constantly being turned pink – and it’s a living nightmare.
The locals live in a seaside Wales town and claim they’ve been having issues with the pink dust covering their houses – and everything on their property – for years.
They say it’s because they live in the shadow of a massive steel mill.
Some have even become concerned about their families’ – and pets’ – health and are pointing the finger at the factory.
Donna Ruddock has lived in Port Talbot for five years, and has dealt with the pink dust ever since she shifted near Tata Steel.
The mum told Wales Online: “There’s red dust everywhere, all the time. It’s on the car, the caravan, on my house.
Read more locals' concerns
“You can’t leave anything out on the line – you’d have to wash it again.
“In the summer, we had to empty and refill my son’s paddling pool every day as the red dust was getting everywhere.
“We can’t leave patio furniture out, it would get covered.”
Donna said her white caravan is now stained burnt red, and week-in, week-out, her front door, front step and the windows and windowsills are covered in mounds of coloured dust.
She is also concerned about her children’s health, and claims the dust has impacted her five-year-old’s asthma.
Donna said: “My little boy is always coughing, especially at night. We’ve just been away to Yorkshire for two weeks and he didn’t cough there at all – but when we got home, he started again.
“It’s got to be to do with the steelworks.”
She claims “nothing has been done” to fix the dust issue, but Tata say that over the last three years it has spent £22million on environmental improvement schemes at the site.
Donna also claimed the company “just don’t care”, but Tata says it operates an independent 24/7 community helpline for any local residents who wished to register a concern.
And Donna’s family are not the only ones impacted by the dust – nearly everyone approached by Wales Online had an opinion on pollution and the unappealing dust.
Not only does it look unappealing, it’s difficult and time consuming to clean off.
Some neighbours have even painted their windowsills and fences different colours so the dust is less noticeable.
One man who has lived in the same house for 30 years, who is only named as Mr Tennant, said the dust seems to get worst when it rains.
He said: “Recently we had a downpour and it just brought tons of red dust everywhere – it was all over my car.
“And it’s pointless having white windowsills, you’ll notice most of us around have darker colours.”
“I used to have a pond in my garden, it used to glisten [with dust and debris].
“That wasn’t too bad, but then one afternoon, I was sat outside with a cup of coffee and I saw the coffee was glistening [from debris and red dust that had fallen] – I wasn’t going to have it then.”
Another resident, Ryan Sherdel, 29, said the steel plant “massively” affected his and his partner’s daily life.
He said: “I think it’s worse in the summer, we notice it more then. It’s all over the car, the windows, the garden.
“I’ve probably spent like £100 on things to protect the car from the dust and dirt.
“I like being outdoors in the summer months. But it’s hard to be outside – it’s off-putting and you have to clean the garden furniture each time you want to sit out.
“During Covid, we were at home so I wanted to sit in the garden as you couldn’t go anywhere, but everything was brown.”
He added the dust could often feel or smell “sulfur-y”.
Another local, Jean Dampier, claimed the dust has caused health issues for her beloved pooch.
Jean said: “You get dust everywhere. We moved here last July, and my dog has been coughing ever since.
“He coughs and he’s got an after cough – it’s the red and white dust.”
She added: “I painted all the garden walls black so you can’t see the dust as much – but you could when a dust cloud comes.”
One resident, David Thomas, even said Tata Steel should be fined for the red dust and the money given to locals or taken off their council tax bills.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is the organisation which holds the steelworks responsible for its impact on the environment.
NRW operations manager Caroline Drayton told Wales Online: “As regulators of industry in Wales, it’s our job to ensure they comply with emission standards set out in law to reduce the impact of their operation on the environment and local people.
“We continue to regulate Tata Steel through its environmental permit to control emissions from the steelworks, including dust releases, and to drive further environmental improvements.”
Speaking to Wales Online, a Tata Steel spokesperson said: “We are very much committed to the continued investment in our Port Talbot site to reduce our impact on the climate and the local environment, and it remains one of our top priorities.
“Over the last three years we have spent £22m on environmental improvement schemes at Port Talbot, which amongst other things include upgraded dust suppression and fume extraction systems at our raw materials, Blast Furnace and steelplant operations.
“We have also invested in improved PM10 (particulate matter in the air below a certain size) and dust monitoring systems, which allow corrective and preventative actions when we encounter any periods of operational instability such as those we have experienced recently at the Blast Furnaces.
“We value our strong relationship with NRW that ensures not only that we operate within the legal limits set for our industry, but also that we act promptly and robustly to any incidents.”
