Anne Arundel County residents skeptical after Maryland Department of Environment identifies mysterious residue
A mysterious sticky residue that was found on cars and outdoor surfaces in an Anne Arundel County community poses no public threat, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) said.
MDE said the test results came back as primarily salt. However, some residents remain skeptical.
"The results identify the material as primarily salt, consistent with brackish bay water," MDE said in a statement to WJZ.
MDE said no evidence of coal ash, other combustion byproducts, or Key Bridge demolition material was found.
"It just seems a little odd," said Glen Burnie resident Matthew Schlessel, who questions MDE's response. "The statement they used was primarily salt, well, what other substance was here other than primarily salt?"
Concerns about potential impacts
For the past week, neighbors in the Pasadena, Maryland, area have noticed a strange substance coating their cars and other outdoor surfaces.
"Blackish, sticky mist, I would say, and it seemed very evenly distributed," said Kelly Hunt, who lives in the Riviera Beach community.
Hunt told WJZ she was at a Riviera Beach community meeting for a couple of hours last week, and when she went outside, her car was covered.
She and many others in the area worried the substance could be from one of the nearby power plants or incinerators.
"I'm very concerned about what we've been breathing in," Hunt said. "With the nice weather, I've had the windows open."
Hunt said she has lived in Pasadena for 56 years and has never seen a substance like that.
"I have never had any kind of spray like this in the whole time I've lived here," Hunt said. "It's just very concerning."
Power plant temporarily shut down
MDE said the Brandon Shores Power Plant temporarily shut down as a precaution to inspect its equipment, but no failures were identified.
The department said confirmation testing is underway as it continues to investigate the source.
Schlessel said the material is just the latest example of this area being overburdened by pollution.
"We experience it pretty much every day, whether it's just air quality or smell or the water pollution," Schlessel said.
Schlessel said neighbors' concerns need to be taken seriously.
"Everything has just been reactionary," Schlessel said. "Can we just have some proactive measures in place so that this stuff isn't happening?"