The 1st post-Helene WNC soil sample results are in from Marshall. What are the results?

MARSHALL – Residents here have been eagerly anticipating MountainTrue’s Marshall soil sample test results.

Of interest to them: What is the toxicity of the sludge left behind in Marshall and across Western North Carolina from the ravages of Tropical Storm Helene?

Now, those results are in, and they look encouraging.

According to French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson, MountainTrue tested for roughly 135 pollutants, and only two were present: isopropltoluene and trimethylbeneze.

River cleanup personnel should protect themselves from mud, sludge and dust

Of those two, trimethylbeneze appears to be the one with the most health concerns. It is associated with petroleum and can potentially present serious human health hazards, MountainTrue said in a Facebook post.

The News-Record & Sentinel spoke with Carson Oct. 24, who said the levels of trimethylbeneze weren’t high enough to raise significant concerns, but added that residents involved with cleanup efforts should still take precautions to avoid contact with mud, sludge and dust.

The French Broad Riverkeeper also said he spoke with a number of scientific experts, as well as an official with the state Division of Waste Management, with whom he has been communicating about issues around the watershed.

“The scientific literature was kind of varied in what levels are harmful,” Carson said. “But the levels we found were so far below any of those levels, that to me it was clear that it wasn’t an urgent problem. But it’s probably still not great to breathe that in and get that on your hands, particularly for folks who have been there 10 hours a day every day since the storm.

“I think it’s still good to be cautious, but I think we’re sort of out of the ‘You should freak out and worry about your skin melting off phase.'”

Carson said he has been on-site at the French Broad River at the Riverside Drive area, and has seen first-hand the pollution in the river.

“We saw big, giant gas tanks spilled over and going down the river,” Carson said. “The Marshall wastewater treatment plant’s not functioning. We saw sewage freely flowing in the river right above town.”

Carson said his team did found products from Silver-Line Plastics in Woodfin, a PVC piping company located along the river.

“A boatload, if not hundreds of thousands of their pipes have washed into the river, and some of their product washed into the river, because I’ve seen that myself, like big bags of powder,” Carson said. “My understanding of what I’ve been told about that stuff is it’s not particularly dangerous.”

Sludge burning through shoes in Marshall, Hot Springs? Um, no

In the days after Helene passed through, rumors proliferated about the mud and sludge in Marshall and Hot Springs burning through footwear and clothing.

“I think those stories are completely fabricated,” Carson said.

During a visit to downtown Marshall Oct. 10, Gov. Roy Cooper spoke out against misinformation in general, telling The News-Record & Sentinel he felt it “demoralizes all of the soldiers, emergency workers, first responders, community leaders who are doing so much to bring these communities back.”

Josh Kastrinsky, deputy communications director for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said his agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigated a site in Madison County in response to several complaints about a supposed incident.

“I knew there were concerns about caustic materials at the site, and largely there was not a lot of evidence in talking with people to substantiate any specific concern,” Kastrinsky said.

According to Kastrinsky, MountainTrue’s assessment was largely consistent with the state DEQ and EPA’s findings.

More sediment sampling ahead in Marshall

According to Carson, the MountainTrue team pulled a river sample from Marshall the week of Oct. 14, and plans to test a sediment sample in Marshall the week of Oct. 28, adding that the next big rainfall could result in different test results, too.

MountainTrue also took two E. coli samples in Marshall as well. The results of those tests, as well as the additional sediment and river samples will be released in the next two weeks, Carson said.

More: Residents caution about toxicity Amid the rubble in Marshall, residents caution about toxic conditions amid Helene cleanup

More: Cooper talks cleanup in Marshall Gov. Roy Cooper in Marshall: Helene sludge/toxicity misinformation ‘demoralizes’ community

More: Hot Springs businesses to reopen Post Helene, how Gentry Hardware, Bluff Mtn. Outfitters and Hot Springs Resort move ahead

Carson cautioned that while the initial soil sample results are encouraging, the upcoming results could potentially tell a different story.

“I think it’s too soon to say where all that went, and if it’s still here and if it’s dangerous, but at least from that one sample we took, the levels weren’t super high, the E. coli levels are not super high right now,” the French Broad Riverkeeper said.

“We got encouraging signs. I certainly wouldn’t give folks the all-clear that the river’s super clean. But it’s better than anticipated.”

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: MountainTrue’s Marshall soil sample results back. What are the results?