The shiny, silver flakes that have covered some local neighborhoods in the past apparently fell again in the Duneland area, this time in Dune Acres.

The Chesterton Tribune received a report Monday that the shiny specs had covered a Dune Acres resident’s yard. The description was similar to the substance reported in other local neighborhoods in recent years.

Ralph McCullers, deputy director of the Northwest Indiana office of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, had not yet received a complaint about the material when contacted Monday, but said that based on the description, it appears that the substance is kish, a byproduct of the steel making process.

Kish is a carbon substance created when hot steel hits the air. In and of itself, kish is harmless, McCullers said. However, while not chemically harmful when breathed like asbestos, breathing in large quantities of kish can be detrimental, especially for people with emphysema or other breathing problems, he said. Its long-term effects are unknown. “It’s like breathing in dust,” he said.

IDEM has received other reports about kish falling in Northwest Indiana communities but has never been able to trace the source, in part because the region has so many potential producers, McCullers said. It appears that kish is noticeable only under certain meterological conditions.

Kish can travel, but McCullers said generally speaking, he would expect that when kish falls, the source is close by. For example, he said he would be surprised if the source of kish in Dune Acres came from a source in Gary.

When people suspect kish, McCullers advised that they should contact the IDEM immediately. The IDEM will attempt to track down the source. A large amount of kish could signify that a local industry violated its permit discharge limits or IDEM’s particulate rule. Residents should also avoid contact with the material as much as possible, he said.

The IDEM’s Gary office phone number is (219) 881-6712.

11:36 AM 4/2/2002