People who live in the Black Pearl neighborhood of New Orleans question where a mysterious white dust came from. Neighbors told WDSU the mystery substance settled over cars, trees, and other surfaces for a couple of days.
Erin Constantine and her two young sons spent part of their Wednesday afternoon washing their car to get rid of it.
“Over the days, I’ve noticed it kind of like building up on the windshield and whatnot, and I’ve kind of had to wipe down the windshield daily,” Constantine said. “So yeah, I’m always so busy with (my kids). I like, barely notice.”
One man out for a bike ride said he has lived in the neighborhood for decades.
“Oh, wow. That’s an evergreen, and that’s dust in the tree,” Phil Sandusky said. “The last time we had anything like this was during all the construction around here , and there’s no construction, so it was I was pretty curious about it.”
The WDSU newsroom was sent pictures and videos from viewers showing the dust covering trees and cars in the neighborhood.
Some viewers wrote in and guessed the dust might be coming from the Cargill grain processing plant in Westwego, located across the Mississippi River. One person sent a video of the view of the plant Wednesday to our newsroom.
WDSU asked Cargill if the dust is coming from their plant. They sent a statement over email.
“Cargill is committed to being a good neighbor in the communities where we operate and maintains environmental controls and operating practices designed to support safe and responsible operations,” a Cargill spokesperson writes. “Our Westwego facility primarily handles corn and soybeans used in food and animal feed production, supporting Cargill’s purpose of nourishing the world. We take community concerns seriously and will continue to engage with our local community.”
WDSU also reached out to City Councilmember Aimee McCarron’s office. Her staff said they were not aware of the issue.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has not yet responded to WDSU’s questions about the dust.
READ MORE:Mystery dust covers cars, trees in Black Pearl neighborhood
