The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York still has its eyes squarely on Tonawanda Coke, but is expanding its focus to include chemicals on the ground in addition to the substances in the air.

Erin Heaney, the group’s executive director, said the issue of what she calls ‘tar sludge’ came up at a community meeting when she asked members if they had any additional concerns about the nearby coke plant.

“The predominant question was about hazardous waste,” she said.

So Heaney and others did some digging, asking Department of Environmental Conservation officials about the chemicals the plants produces. The coal tar, a byproduct produced when coal is superheated to produce coke, is sold to create a long list of chemical products, including asphalt sealant and rust-proof coating for metals.

Dan David, regional environmental quality engineer for the DEC, said coal tar is recovered in Tonawanda Coke’s byproducts plant and sold to other companies that break it down into other compounds. It can also be reinjected into the coke making process, which is a practice Tonawanda Coke uses as well, David said.

When they started asking for more detailed information about coal tar storage, handling and production, Heaney said the group’s members were told that DEC and Environmental Protection Agency investigators who inspected the facility in April were still waiting for Tonawanda Coke to provide records detailing those numbers. To Heaney and many others, seeing regulators relying on data sent over from Tonawanda Coke itself is frustrating.

“The community is pretty fed up with self-reporting,” Heaney said.

The group was especially curious about rumors that Tonawanda Coke was receiving coal tar from other locations and storing it in the town. David said when the coke ovens at Bethlehem Steel were being dismantled a few years ago, coal tar was still in the systems. That tar was shipped to Tonawanda Coke for reuse rather than being put into a hazardous waste storage facility.

“Within the hazardous waste guidelines, that is considered a recycling operation,” David said.

Those guidelines keep Tonawanda Coke from being subject to hazardous waste regulations and raised a few eyebrows among the CAC’s ranks. Inspectors examined the operation during the April testing and are still examining the conditions of the exemption to see if any violations have occurred that would change the arrangement.

“They’re not subject to hazardous waste regulations as long as it’s stored, transported and used properly,” David said. “Now we just have to make sure it is being stored, transported and used properly.”

While the substance is not a carcinogen without excessive amounts of exposure, coal tar is an irritant to skin and mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and throat if not handled properly. The CAC wants to know how much is being stored at the coke facility and what the substance could mean for surrounding residents.

It’s not the first time people have asked for a look at the site’s soil. The DEC released a decision on the site’s ground contamination in March 2008, ruling that as long as the site was isolated behind its fences town residents won’t come into contact with any of the chemicals in the soil.

“The whole site is fenced and has 24 hour security, so there are no trespassers,” said Gregory Sutton, DEC regional hazardous waste remediation engineer in 2008 when the results were released. “With those fenced areas, there’s no chance anyone will wander onto the property.”

Chemicals making their way into the groundwater was another concern at the time, but the layer of clay underneath those areas prevent the substances from seeping through. Ground water is still monitored on a yearly basis, and David said since coal tar is sticky and viscous it wouldn’t flow quickly even if there was a spill.

Regardless, the DEC and EPA continue to look at the storage and use of the material, and the CAC is awaiting the report. Tonawanda Coke Owner J.D. Crane did not return a Monday afternoon phone call seeking comment.

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.