"David Jones Jr. is no stranger to treacherous work. For years, the 45-year-old South Baltimore resident made his living scaling tall buildings to install signs.

But for Jones, the real danger has been in and around his home: Jones and his wife live a few hundred feet away from a large coal terminal where dust from mountainous, uncovered coal piles has blown over the community day after day for decades.

“You can’t get away from it,” said Jones. “You feel it in your eyes, you feel it on your skin. You taste it. It’s in your nose.”

While there is limited research on its effects in communities, coal dust exposure has been linked in scientific research to worsened asthma, heart and lung problems, among other health effects.

Jones and his wife used to wash the coal dust from their windows as often as they could, he said. But after 25 years living in a home that once belonged to Jones’ grandfather, they’ve given up."

Shannon Kelleher reports for The New Lede December 16, 2025. [2]