Persistent dust issue raises health concerns MOORESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Persistent dust and a fear over its health effects has caused a small Morgan County town to consider legal action against a multibillion-dollar company.  For years, neighbors have been worried about the health effects of the Arcosa Lightweight plant. Now, one of those neighbors fears it may be time for her to move. “I’m worried about my health and my kids’ health, and the health of my community,” said Dana Lynn, who lives next to the Arcosa plant. Lynn doesn’t like to stay in her yard for long because her house is within eyeshot of Arcosa Lightweight. In videos shared with I-Team 8, Lynn showed how the emissions from the specialty concrete company often turns brown, which then leaves behind sandy-like dust. “It’s some nasty stuff,” Lynn said about the dust. “It feels gritty, but it turns into black ash.” Lynn said the dust has become such a problem it may stop her from passing on her house, which her father built in 1977, on to her children.  “If we can’t get somebody to help us, and we have been trying for 17 years, then I told my husband we need to try to come up with an exit plan,” Lynn said. Just around the corner from Lynn’s home, in the town of Bethany, many neighbors are considering leaving, according to Board President Walter Worley.  “Several of them have moved [out], and the ones that have moved in are wondering if they made a mistake or not,” Worley said.  Morgan County Plan Director Laura Parker confirmed to I-Team 8 that Arcosa encroached 200 feet into a 1000-foot buffer meant to protect surrounding locals. The encroachment caused the town of Bethany to retain an environmental lawyer. The lawyer is Kim Ferraro with the Conservation Law Center. Ferraro wrote a letter to Arcosa, shared with I-Team 8, saying Bethany “is prepared to take legal action.”  Arcosa has stopped working in the setback, has seeded the buffer to replace the vegetation, and placed physical stakes along the boundary to stop an encroachment from happening again, according to a company spokesperson. Ferraro said Arcosa, despite those efforts, still hasn’t responded to the town of Bethany’s letter.  “If Arcosa wants to be a good neighbor, it needs to do more than plant a few seeds,” Ferraro told I-Team 8 in an email.  Worley sees the dust coming from the Arcosa plant as an urgent public health issue.  “People are getting sicker and sicker,” Worley said.  The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has delivered two warning letters, one violation letter, and issued four fines to Arcosa Lightweight since 2018. Those fines totaled $26,000, which Lynn and Worley believe is an inadequate sum to motivate a company of Arcosa’s size to comply with the law if it doesn’t want to.  An unannounced IDEM inspection on Jan. 2 found no violations.  An Arcosa spokesperson told I-Team 8 in a statement, “Arcosa has made significant investments in improving and maintaining its emissions control technology that are operating well, and our testing protocols exceed what is required under our applicable permit.” The spokesperson claimed the emissions from the Arcosa plant, which is actually steam, contains a “minute amount of particulate.” The spokesperson would not say whether those emissions turning brown signal any violations. “There are many factors that can impact the color of the water vapor plume, like sunlight that can have a large influence on the visible color of that plume,” the spokesperson said. Bethany has reached out to county, state, and federal officials asking for stricter oversight.  “They don’t care,” Worley said.  Arcosa Lightweight does not have a tip line or method setup for neighbors to call if they believe the plant is in violation, although Arcosa says it’s in good communication with county leaders.