Mother acts over air quality concerns

DANA, Ind. (WTHI) - Alisha Porter and her family have lived in Dana for four years.

But just last year, Porter noticed more dust from the Cargill grain elevator in town.

Then her son and daughter started getting sick.

"They start out with runny noses and allergy-like symptoms," Porter said. "And then it'll go into their chest."

Porter said she's concerned that the dust from the grain is causing their breathing problems; symptoms made worse because the bins are right across the street from their house.

Home video taken by Porter in March 2010 shows grain piles, exposed and uncovered.

In additional video, filmed Tuesday, Porter drove through her yard to show how much grain dust had settled there; then she drove on the street, an asphalt road, covered in the same dust.

Video from Tuesday night shows grain so thick it looked like a winter storm.

"My concerns are mostly with the kids being sick, all the grain dust that they're inhaling," Porter said.

One doctor who spoke to News 10 said these conditions, day after day, could be the cause of the kids' breathing troubles.

"With a high enough exposure to these kind of molds, it can be a hazard," Dr. Diane Jordan-Wagner, an allergy specialist at Terre Haute's UAP Clinic, said. "It could lead to things like high fever and look like a pneumonia picture and hospitalization."

Porter said her complaints to Cargill initially went unanswered.

After News 10 contacted Cargill Friday, Company representatives approached Porter's husband to discuss their concerns at the home and what could be done to solve the problem.

Cargill representatives told News 10 they're taking steps to cover the grain and reduce the dust from their operation.

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