---
title: Coal Dust Clouds a Baltimore Neighborhood’s Fight for Clean Air
date: 2025-07-22T15:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/coal-dust-clouds-a-baltimore-neighborhoods-fight-for-clean-air"
section: Articles
---
# Coal Dust Clouds a Baltimore Neighborhood’s Fight for Clean Air

*July 22, 2025* — by [Georgia Jiang](/author/georgia-jiang)


> UMD, Hopkins Researchers Link Pollution in Curtis Bay Community to Nearby Coal Terminal Activity, Wind

*Curtis Bay 1920x1080 Image courtesy R Gattis — The homes in Baltimore's Curtis Bay neighborhood are surrounded by heavy traffic, a landfill, rail yards and a coal pier, among other industrial sites.*

Bulldozers running at an open-air coal terminal at the Port of Baltimore, coupled with wind, are closely linked to air pollution in the nearby Curtis Bay community, according to [a new study](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-025-01773-w) by researchers from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and community members.

Published Monday in the journal *Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health*, the study revealed that levels of air pollutants (including particulate matter and black carbon) were highest in Curtis Bay, which is surrounded by heavy industrial activity and truck, train and ship traffic, when there was both bulldozer activity and wind blowing from the CSX Corporation’s Curtis Bay Piers terminal. Exposure to coal dust has been linked to adverse impacts to both environment and human health, and Curtis Bay residents have complained about air quality for decades.


*bulldozer — A bulldozer operates at the CSX Corporation's Curtis Bay Piers coal terminal. (Image courtesy of the South Baltimore Community Land Trust)*



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The paper, "[Relation of Wind Direction and Coal Terminal Activity Patterns with Air Pollution Burden in a Community Bordering a Coal Export Terminal, Curtis Bay, Maryland, USA](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-025-01773-w)," was co-authored by Lauren Deanes, Bonita Salmerón, Matthew Aubourg, Laura Schmidt, Kristoffer Spicera, Caila Wagara, Gregory Sawtell, Carlos Sanchez-Gonzalez, David Jones, Angela Shaneyfelt, David Hagan, David McClosky, Nicholas Spada, Russell Dickerson, Vivek Ravichandran, Sacoby Wilson, Anik Burman, Abhirup Datta and Christopher Heaney.

Support for the research was provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Johns Hopkins Community Science and Innovation for Environmental Justice Initiative, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the UC Davis Environmental Health Science Center Core, the University of Maryland Grand Challenge grant, and the Maryland Department of the Environment.

*The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Office of External Affairs contributed to this article.*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Atmospheric and Oceanic Science](https://today.umd.edu/topic/atmospheric-and-oceanic-science), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences), [School of Public Health](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-public-health)