BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"This could be devastating to a little town like Golinda," Mayor of Golinda Joyce Farar said.
"They didn't think we'd fight back, and I think that made me angriest, honestly," Golinda resident Kelli Gillies said.
The City of Golinda is fighting against Ash Material Inc.'s facility for manufacturing silica.
"It's not that we don't want new businesses in Golinda, we just want businesses that don't kill the city," Farar said.
Silica is a component used to create concrete.
Neighbors in the community are worried about the health risks associated with the material.
Maria Otazo is a local doctor who spoke about the impact of inhaling silica dust.
"Chronic inhalation of silica dust can cause COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and this can lead to lung cancer in some cases,” Dr. Maria Otazo said.
Community members put together a petition to stop the facility from being built within their city.
Representatives from Ash Material Inc. spoke at the town hall meeting on Thursday.
They explained why the Golinda was an ideal location for their facility.
"We're in the middle of an epicenter of raw materials all around us," Ash Materials Inc. Chris Calva said.
“Everything you could ever need is here, so it makes efficiency and money sense to be in the middle."
Community members are concerned with the impact the facility will have on their properties, anticipated traffic from the work trucks, and the city says the company neglected to obtain proper permits before starting their work.
The company says their production is safe and apologizes for the mistake regarding the permits.
"We don't want the poison here, put it in your backyard," Gillies said.
