Panel discusses impact

Nancy Button remembers when things were much quieter in her small North Charleston neighborhood of Rosemont.

She recalls playing outside her house as a 7-year-old and the only sounds she could hear were the delightful screams of other children.

But then along came Interstate 26 and with it big business. And now, with a new container terminal planned at the former Charleston Naval Base, things are about to get even more crowded.

Button, who is the president of the Rosemont homeowners association, said the new facility is expected to increase truck traffic through her neighborhood by as many as 10,000 trucks a day.

"Where's the wall? Where's the buffer? How are we going to breathe?" Button said.

The air in her neighborhood is already ripe with high levels of toxic chemicals, according to a recent USA Today investigation. By her math, more trucks mean that percentage is about to get even worse.

On Saturday, Button and a group of panelists ranging from politicians to orthopedic surgeons got together at Royal Missionary Baptist Church along with community members to discuss what they all could do to help limit the impact on the environment. Sessions ranged on topics like what specific things are being emitted into the environment to potential rising health care costs from those emissions.

For nearly six hours, attendees listened in as a crew from California -- who are well versed in what it's like to live in a state with lots of busy port cities -- explained what to expect and what they need to speak up about.

"It's not like we're anti- or against the port," Button said. "We just want clean air for us and our children. I really don't think that's too much to ask."

Reach Bryce Donovan at 937-5938 or bdonovan@postandcourier.com.