Austin Residents Say Homes Near Former Brach's Factory Coated In Dust
(CBS) -- The historic Brach's Candy factory, made famous when Batman blew up the building in the 2008 hit "The Dark Knight," is now the target of complaints by neighbors in the Austin community.
The building is long gone, but residents worry that what's left behind could be hurting them, reports CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker.
The iconic Brach's candy factory once produced more than four million pounds of candy every week. It was shut down in 2003 and demolished last fall.
It sits right across the street from Willie Moore's home in Austin. He says the dust from the sire blows over into his house when the wind blows.
"When I blow my nose the tissue is actually black like soot," Moore said. "I'm wondering what effect it might have on my health."
Other neighbors have the same concern.
"I called the alderman…nothing. I called city environment…nothing," Moore said.
The city's Department of Public Health did respond on May 5 to an anonymous complaint, but according to the findings, inspectors "observed no dust or any activity at the address." But Moore says they never came inside their homes.
"They need to cover that or remove it," Moore said.
According to city records the property is owned by ML Realty. City officials say property owners are responsible for any clean-up. Alderman Jason Ervin claims he never received Moore's complaint, but after our questions he plans to contact the company.
"If there's consistent dust coming off that site they need to mitigate and take control of it," Alderman Ervin said.
Because of our calls, the Department of Public Health inspected Mr. Moore's home Tuesday.
Dust can be issue for people with existing health issues and he has a history of heart problems.
In a statement, ML Realty Partners said, "Since demolition on the site first started two years ago, we haven't had any complaints of this nature. While we have no reason to believe the site is the cause of these complaints, we want to continue to be a good neighbor and will promptly install dust screens."
