Tony McAuley runs his finger along a rhododendron leaf, smudging away a thick coat of dust.

B次元官网网址淭his is what we are breathing every day,B次元官网网址� says the co-owner of LynneB次元官网网址檚 Little Elf Garden Centre on Goldstream Avenue. B次元官网网址淭he concrete dust settles on everything.B次元官网网址�

McAuley and his wife Lynne Hedstrom-McAuley live next door to Tower Fence Products, which runs a busy ready-mix concrete plant just metres from the trees, shrubs and perennials of the the garden supply store.

Concrete powder blowing in and out of tall silos and a steady stream of concrete trucks has turned the residential neighbourhood into a noisy dust bowl, McAuley says. Most days the 1000 block of Goldstream Avenue is coated in grey dust, and after a rain, cement powder sludge drains into city storm sewers.

B次元官网网址淓ven on Sundays the road is dirty,B次元官网网址� McAuley said. B次元官网网址淭he bottom line is (Tower) is in the wrong place.B次元官网网址�

Tower Fencing and the City of Langford couldnB次元官网网址檛 agree more. Tower put its Goldstream Avenue properties up for sale earlier this year in a bid to move the successful and rapidly growing company out of where itB次元官网网址檚 not wanted.

Tower owner Denis Madsen hasnB次元官网网址檛 responded to recent emails or phone calls, but he has said in a previous interview he doesnB次元官网网址檛 want conflict with this neighbours and plans to relocate his business and its 150 employees outside of the city this year.

That is cold comfort to some residents, who remain frustrated the City allows a large industrial operation to continue in the midst of what is now a residential area.

B次元官网网址淭he dust is crazy. Clouds of dust fly up,B次元官网网址� said Karen Higginbotham, who lives near Tower on Goldstream Avenue. She worries about her young daughter breathing concrete dust and the frequent trucks rumbling through the neighbourhood.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 begrudge anyone from having a successful business, but what they are doing there is too loud, dusty and dangerous for a residential area,B次元官网网址� Higginbotham said.

The Ministry of Environment has taken notice, and has directed Tower to better control its fugitive dust, and is investigating if what blows away is hitting levels considered to be air pollution.

The white and blue concrete delivery trucks are washed at the site exit, and the company has a sweeper to clean up the road, but dust remains a problem, said Katherine Pearce, an environmental protection technician with the Ministry of Environment.

B次元官网网址淚t seems the current dust control is not sufficient,B次元官网网址� Pearce said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e directed Tower to add measures to mitigate dust.B次元官网网址�

The ministry has directed Tower to hire a consultant to conduct air quality monitoring over the summer, measuring dust fall and particulate matter. An air quality study was also conducted at Tower in the fall of 2010.

Pearce said an air quality study over the dry season B次元官网网址� July and August B次元官网网址� should B次元官网网址減rovide a level of certaintyB次元官网网址� for the source of the dust and the level of potential environmental contamination.

B次元官网网址淥n site I observed elevated levels of dust, visible dust near the silos and the roadway,B次元官网网址� Pearce said, referring to a visit to Tower on May 13. B次元官网网址淏ut to determine if itB次元官网网址檚 pollution, we need to quantify those levels.B次元官网网址�

At the same time, Langford has an ongoing court action against Tower, alleging that the company erected its concrete silos without permits, and that the scale of its concrete operations far exceeds the allowable uses.

The allegations havenB次元官网网址檛 been proven in court and Madsen flatly denies he is breaking any zoning laws B次元官网网址� the land was zoned for concrete manufacturing when he bought the property in 1989. Langford argues the zoning did allow for a small concrete operation, but Tower has moved into the realm of heavy industry.

B次元官网网址淲hat we need is compliance with the zoning,B次元官网网址� said LangfordB次元官网网址檚 senior bylaw enforcement officer Lorne Fletcher. B次元官网网址淲ithin the land use, light or heavy industry does not fit and is not allowed. There is a school next door, residential areas and a park.B次元官网网址�

Fletcher noted that Tower has no business license for concrete portion of the businesses operations, B次元官网网址渨hich forms part of the CityB次元官网网址檚 arguments against the property.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淛ust because there is no business license doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean (Tower) will fold up its tent,B次元官网网址� Fletcher said. Tower has moved slowly on supplying financial documents for the court action, Fletcher adds, and Madsen himself is due to be interviewed for the discovery phase in mid July.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 dusty, itB次元官网网址檚 noisy and there are spinoff environmental concerns,B次元官网网址� Fletcher said. B次元官网网址淏ut we are at the schedule of the courts. Everything that can be done is being done.B次元官网网址�

Langford Mayor Stew Young said the City isnB次元官网网址檛 eager to spend taxpayer dollars on a court action against a Langford business, but they are prepared to continue down that road unless Tower relocates or conforms to allowed uses under the zoning.

B次元官网网址淲e arenB次元官网网址檛 trying to push out a business. This is a great business for Langford, but it needs to be in an industrial area,B次元官网网址� Young says. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got to protect the neighbourhood around there. You just have to drive down the road to see the dust.B次元官网网址�

At Little Elf Garden Centre, employee Ben Bondar goes to work each day braced for noise and a headache. HeB次元官网网址檚 collecting dust samples to submit to laboratory testing to determine if what heB次元官网网址檚 breathing is hazardous to his and his employers' health.

B次元官网网址淲e are looking to prove the dust is pollution, that the dust that crosses (Spencer) school grounds creates a health hazard.B次元官网网址�

editor@goldstreamgazette.com