Bailey Hill, Environmental Justice Advocate
January 31, 2023 marked the one-year anniversary of a fire that could have resulted in one of the worst explosions in U.S. history according to Winston-Salem fire chief, Trey Mayo. The origin of the fire at Winston Weaver Co.’s fertilizer manufacturing plant in Northern Winston Salem remains unknown. A voluntary evacuation of the 1-mile area surrounding the plant was issued when it was discovered that around 600 tons of ammonium nitrate were being stored at the plant.
The map shows NCDEQ’s 6 sampling locations. The furthest sampling point was 20 miles downstream of the fire. Image Courtesy of NCDEQ
As reported by Grace Fuchs (Riverkeeper Assistant) in YRK’s February 2022 e-news, agents from NCDEQ and EPA Region 4 sampled water runoff near the site and areas further downstream in order to assess the full impact of this incident. Preliminary data released by EPA that month indicated elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in Monarcas, Mill, and Muddy Creeks, in addition to the main stem of the Yadkin River at the Highway 64 bridge.
The map indicates the areas covered in the water advisory issued by the Forsyth County Health Department in February 2022. Image courtesy of Winston Salem Fire Department
Three months after the fire, hazardous materials were still detected at the site of the former plant and water runoff was directed into a retention pond contained by a berm. Over 4.2 million gallons of water was used to suppress the fire that spanned several days. The Winston-Salem Journal reported in May of 2022 that Monarcas and Mill Creeks had not fully recovered after being contaminated by a mix of chemicals, including nitrogen and phosphorus.
Community Narratives
In an article released by Winston-Salem Journal on February 19, 2023, Sabrina Webster, a resident of the Piney Grove Neighborhood recounts her experience on the evening when the fire ignited:
“I heard the first explosion and it shook the house,” she recalled. “Then within minutes I heard another explosion. And I panicked, trying to put clothes in the bag. The main thing I wanted to get was my family portraits. And I couldn’t grab all of them. I was able to get my dog. I couldn’t get my cat. When this house shook, it scared me so bad.”
It’s a year later and Webster continues to think about the potentially massive explosion that could have occurred due to the amount of ammonium nitrate on site:
“Even today it is so upsetting,” she said. “I’m nervous and have anxiety. This is a family neighborhood. This is not just a house, it is a home. And I think about a whole generation of a family could have been wiped off the face of the earth.”
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) is currently working with residents of the Piney Grove neighborhood to help organize and present their post-fire concerns. The neighborhood has formed a group called the Piney Grove League for Change. BREDL organizer, Jason Torian, shared with the Winston-Salem Journal that the organization was frustrated by the response of local officials during the emergency, primarily because “local officials didn’t do enough during the fire and the days afterward to emphasize how dangerous it was to breathe the fumes from the fire.”
This incident displaced a community during a time when COVID-19 was at a peak in Forsyth County. The city offered shelter at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds’ Education building for those living in and around the voluntary evacuation zone. Some residents sought shelter with nearby relatives, while others rented rooms at local hotels. With the threat of COVID-19 looming in addition to the hassle of transporting necessary medical items and lacking the funds to rent a hotel room, other residents remained inside their homes.
Screenshot taken from EJScreen of 1-mile buffer zone surrounding 4440 N Cherry St.
Environmental Justice Communities of Concern
While the environmental justice concerns of the communities surrounding 4440 N Cherry St. were present before the fire occurred, it took a threat of annihilation by 600 tons of ammonium nitrate to bring attention to the potential dangers of living within a “fenceline community” at the edge of industrial operations.
According to EPA’s environmental justice screening tool, 88% of residents living within the 1-mile zone surrounding the former fertilizer manufacturing site are People of Color, while 64% are considered “low income.” Additionally, residents living in the zone, which is shown above, are in the 80-90th percentile in the U.S. for air toxics cancer risk, air toxics respiratory hazard index, hazardous waste proximity, and underground storage tanks. These statistics directly qualify the neighborhoods as environmental justice communities of concern.
At least two class-action lawsuits were filed in 2022 against Winston Weaver Co. In the case of Karen Prudencio v. Winston Weaver Co., the suit “contends that Winston Weaver was ‘negligent or grossly negligent in causing, or contributing to the cause’ of the fire and seeks compensatory and punitive damages for those who were adversely affected” (WSJ article by John Deem, "Winston Weaver faces more legal action over plant fire").
In February 2022, Winston-Salem City Council approved a $1 million fund to offer financial aid to those displaced by the fire, with a maximum of $850,000 made available for direct payments to residents and workers. The remaining $150,000 was reserved for the administrative fee to disperse the funds by a local nonprofit, Experiment in Self-Reliance. On February 9th of this year, WFDD reported that only $241,000 was distributed to 656 of the nearly 6,500 residents who were potentially eligible to receive aid. The process of allocating funds was less effective than the city anticipated, and a final budget report shows that nearly 30% of the $1 million budget was spent on administrative expenses by Experiment in Self-Reliance.
“An angel statue faces in the direction of billowing smoke from the fire at Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022.” Photo courtesy of Allison Lee Isley, Winston-Salem Journal.
The Path Forward
As stated by Sabrina Webster of the Piney Grove neighborhood, “everyone should have a right to live in a safe environment that is not hazardous to your health.”
The long-term health effects of exposure to the smoke produced by the Weaver Fire are currently being studied by researchers at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. In January of this year, the medical center announced it would be conducting a study to “compare the health of some 900 people within a two-mile radius of the plant site with that of some 7,000 people who live further away than that” (WSJ article by Wes Young, "Weaver fire anniversary brings lessons learned and unanswered questions in Winston-Salem"). Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods and Iglesia Cristiana Sin Fronteras have partnered with Atrium Health to help recruit community members for the study.
In the first week of December 2022, Winston-Salem City Council unanimously approved proposed amendments to the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, placing new restrictions on facilities that manufacture pesticides, fertilizer, other agricultural chemicals, explosives, pyrotechnics, and batteries. Companies that purchase existing buildings or construct new buildings for manufacturing these products will now be required to operate on tracts of land stretching at least 25 acres with 400-foot buffers. For comparison, the former Winston Weaver plant operated on an 8-acre tract of land. Officials acknowledged that even a 400-foot buffer would not have provided enough distance to protect the residential areas surrounding the plant had a more severe explosion occurred.
Questions remain regarding the future use of the land that formerly contained the fertilizer plant. Due to contamination from almost 100 years of industrial manufacturing, some question whether or not it would be safe to construct housing units or install a park. Based on the cost and timelines of previous soil remediation projects across the state, it is unclear if the city will choose to embark on this path.
According to a 5-month study conducted by Montrose Engineering and Geology, the fire, itself, left “no significant environmental impact on the site of the Weaver plant” (WSJ article by Wes Young, “Weaver Fire anniversary brings lessons learned and unanswered questions in Winston-Salem”). The company sampled groundwater 20 to 30 feet underground and collected hundreds of soil samples from the site. The study suggests that “while some arsenic and chromium levels were elevated by residential standards, they were not the result of the fire and were not out of line for an industrial site in use for 80 years.”
For more information about the Weaver Fire and the communities most affected by the incident, check out the resources below:
Winston-Salem Journal articles:
“Weaver Fire anniversary brings lessons learned and unanswered questions in Winston-Salem”
“'Far from the conclusion': Contamination lingers from Weaver fire”
“Winston-Salem council approves restrictions aimed at companies like Winston Weaver”
“Winston Weaver faces more legal action over plant fire”
WFDD articles:
“Investigation reveals high overhead costs for fertilizer plant fire relief project, raising questions about city oversight”
“Two-thirds of Winston Weaver fire relief money went undistributed by the city, raising questions about outreach”