Gonzales residents express concern about continuing red dust problem
GONZALES, La. (BRPROUD) – Many residents living in Pelican Crossing in Gonzales have expressed concerns about red dust that has constantly been flying over their neighborhoods, and they said it’s getting worse.
Brett Abbate has been living in Pelican Crossing for a while. He said the red dust has been covering many of their homes, driveways, and even cars.
He said that for the past six months, it’s progressively gotten worse.
“Now it’s just crazy. Now it just, it makes no sense for it to be this bad,” said Abbate.
Bauxite chemical plant shut down a few years ago due to bankruptcy, and what’s left behind is mountains of red dust that sit atop a lake behind the subdivision.
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Abbate said that some houses in front of the neighborhood may catch parts of it, but those who live closer get the most impact. “It was just, I mean, it was just a cloud of, it was just a sheet of red,” said Abbate.
Abbate said he, along with their HOA and neighbors, have been expressing concerns on trying to contain and fix the red dust.
He said sometimes they can’t even go outside, or they’ll breathe it in. “You can’t even go outside, like I can’t. Same thing, all my friends and neighborhood and everybody. You can’t even let your kids outside sometimes,” said Abbate.
He said he, along with his neighbors, hope that something can be done to start the process of removing or containing the red dust.
“We all, everybody in the neighborhood is hoping it. We’ve got this far and we hope maybe this can be some, the first step or maybe the only step to a permanent fix,” said Abbate.
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