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GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCIV) — People who live in Goose Creek have been complaining for weeks about a white powder-like substance in the air- identified as alumina dust.

They said it’s been covering their cars and homes, and even making it hard to breathe.

Monday night, Goose Creek residents heard from health and environmental experts for the first time about the issue, and their plan to fix it.

Century Aluminum addresses alumina dust concerns in Goose Creek: Promises resolution in 10 days. Community town hall held Oct. 9, 2023. (WCIV)

They were also able to ask representatives from Century Aluminum and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) questions

Some told News 4 before the meeting started they were just looking for transparency.

“First, we’re sorry. I understand your concerns and frustrations, but we also appreciate your patience. We will fix this issue,” said Dennis Harbath, the plant manager at Century Aluminum.

Century Aluminum said the release of alumina dust in Goose Creek first happened because of accelerated bag failures. They said they’re replacing the failed bags and expect their action plan to take 10 days to solve the problem.

Read More: White dust emitted into Goose Creek from Century Aluminum plant; officials respond

But people who live in the area are still concerned.

“I’m exhausted all the time, I get headaches, you know, my eyes burn. It’s just been a total nightmare,” said Jackie Davis Pfister.

Pfister lives in Goose Creek, and people like her who have preexisting conditions like asthma are worried about long-term effects.

“Before I never really had to use my inhaler except for when I was sick or overexerted myself, that was the only time I used it, but now it’s just a regular basis, three to five times [per day],” she said.

Read More: Goose Creek residents grapple with alumina dust from local aluminum plant

DHEC said there is a certain type of aluminum oxide particles they’re keeping their eye on.

“What we were most concerned about is actually the smaller particles that you could actually breathe in and actually get into your lungs. So, for that reason we did put out some air sensors,” said Rhonda Thompson, the Bureau of Air Quality chief for DHEC.

But she said the readings from their sensors have been very low so far.

Other questions came from the crowd: Why didn’t the plant shut down when the leak first happened? And, how will aluminum oxide affect animals, and not just people?

Read More: DHEC confirms 2023 season's first flu-related death in SC

But Monday’s experts said they couldn’t answer some of those questions, leaving many frustrated.

Statistics from the DHEC air sensors and the area’s current air quality can be found on DHEC's website.

People can also go to mthollyupdates.com for more information from Century Aluminum, including how the plant is working to solve this issue.

Goose Creek High School's girls track and field team hoisted the championship trophy in the Berkeley County School District meet Wednesday, April 10, at Cane Bay High School.

The Lady Gators amassed 185 points to edge runner-up Philip Simmons by eight points. Stratford's girls were third with 144.5 points.

Coach Deshon Baylock's bunch finished first in 10 of 18 events, powered by senior Faith Jones.

Jones earned individual victories in the 100-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, and ran a leg on the Gators' winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

“She's kind of like our Swiss army knife," Baylock said about Jones. "She does anything we ask of her. She wanted to do something different this year so we put her in the 400 hurdles. She likes the challenge of doing different things."

Kourtney Horne (100 hurdles), Kamille Whitfield (shot put), Keoorah Capleton (discus), Joslynn Moultrie (long jump), Autumn Williams (triple jump) and Karma Moultrie (high jump) also took a spot atop the awards podium for Goose Creek.

Jones won the most outstanding track athlete and Williams the most outstanding field athlete for the Gators.

"We believed if everybody did what they were capable of this would be possible," Baylock said. "I don't know for sure, but this might be the first time the girls team has ever won county."

Philip Simmons captured the boys crown with 183.5 points and Stratford placed runner-up with 149 points. Goose Creek finished third, 2.5 points behind Stratford.

In addition to Jones, Stratford sprinter Patience Grant, Cane Bay thrower Joshua Frost, Cane Bay hurdler Jayden Anderson and Philip Simmons' jumper Bryce Ellington won two individual events.

Girls

Team Scores

Goose Creek 185, Philip Simmons 177, Stratford 144.5, Berkeley 72.5, Cane Bay 60, Hanahan 45, Timberland 9, Cross 5.

Winners

100 m – Faith Jones, GC, 12.45

200 m – Patience Grant, S, 26.28

400 m – Patience Grant, S, 59.08

800 m – Cloe Runion, S, 2:29.98

1600 m – Laura Perry, PS, 5:11.92

3200 m – Avah Mallek, PS, 11:51.35

100 h – Kourtney Horne, GC, 15.57

400 h - Faith Jones, GC, 1:06.08

4x 100 m – GC, 48.77

4 x 400 m – GC, 4:12.49

4 x 800 m – PS, 10:08.24

Shot put – Kamille Whitfield, GC, 34-4.25

Discus – Keoorah Capleton, GC, 92-6

Javelin – Elisia Hamilton, S, 94-11

Long jump – Joslynn Moultrie, GC, 17-8.75

Triple jump – Autumn Williams, GC, 37-1.75

High jump – Karma Moultrie, GC, 4-11

Pole vault – Ashley Roush, PS, 12-0

Boys

Team Scores

Philip Simmons 183.5, Stratford 149, Goose Creek 146.5, Cane Bay 114.5, Hanahan 45.5, Berkeley 21, Cross 19, Timberland 16.

Winners

Today's Top Headlines

100 m – Evan Daniels, GC, 10.67

200 m – Corey Steed, PS, 21.87

400 m – Ethan Sullivan, PS, 51.36

800 m – Bobby Gibson, S, 2:02.69

1600 m – Chase Hoppock, S, 4:36.79

3200 m – Pierce Walker, PS, 10:00.13

100 h – Jayden Anderson, CB, 15.43

400 h - Jayden Anderson, CB, 59.18

4x 100 m – PS, 42.83

4 x 400 m – GC, 3:26.93

4 x 800 m – PS, 8:29.75

Shot put – Joshua Frost, CB, 43-9.75

Discus – Joshua Frost, CB, 133-9

Javelin – Matthew Yaun, PS, 156-10

Long jump – Bryce Ellington, PS, 23-1.75

Triple jump – Bryce Ellington, PS, 44-4.75

High jump – Javion Brown, H, 6-2.75

Pole vault – Trey Hensley, PS, 13-0

County squads ranked in soccer

Five high school soccer teams from the Berkeley County School District are ranked in the latest South Carolina Soccer Coaches Association Top 10 polls.

In Class 5A, Stratford’s boys are No. 7.

In Class 3A, Philip Simmons’ boys are No. 4 and fellow Region 8-3A squad Hanahan one spot back at No. 5.

In the Class 3A girls poll, Hanahan is No. 7 and Philip Simmons No. 8.

Berkeley softball 4

Cane Bay 0

Berkeley improved to 4-0 in Region 6-5A victory at Cane Bay April 10.

Stags leadoff hitter Savannah Scott went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while third baseman Payton Gamble collected three hits and drove in a run. Second baseman Courtlyn Cox and pitcher Reese Watson contributed two hits each

Watson was the winning pitcher, going three innings with six strikeouts. She allowed one hit.

Cane Bay pitcher Isabella Kelly hurled five innings, allowing five hits while striking out three batters. The Cobras fell to 1-3 in league play.

Stratford baseball 6

Wando 5

Stratford evened a Region 6-5A series with Wando on April 10, hanging on to win by a single run against the visitors from Mount Pleasant.

Shortstop Gavin Garcia had two hits for the Knights, who lost to the Warriors by a run two days earlier in the three-game series. Outfielder JQ Crosby scored twice for the Knights. First baseman Bryce Herpolsheimer and Braydon Burnett knocked in runs for Stratford (3-3 in league play).

In another region game April 10, Cane Bay blanked Goose Creek, 5-0, to take a 2-0 series lead.

The third game for each series is set for Friday, April 12 (after press time).

GBT Realty Corp. will build the latest housing development in Goose Creek in Summerville. GBT’s The Village at Carnes Crossroads brings 306 multifamily homes and over 11,000 square feet of retail to the heart of the Lowcountry lifestyle community, according to a news release.

GBT acquired the 11.82-acre site earlier this month from Carnes Crossroads Association, the master developer of Carnes Crossroads, according to a news release. JLL Capital Markets arranged construction financing with Bank of America and Meta Real Estate Partners. JLL’s Managing Directors Matt Stewart and Chip Sykes, and Director Wyatt Strahan represented GBT Realty.

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“This is a lifestyle community that epitomizes the best of southern living,” said Barry Yoeckel, vice president, multifamily development, GBT Realty, in the release. “The Village adds a living environment that appeals to young professionals, growing families and empty nesters alike. We designed and planned our community to enhance and connect with the surrounding Carnes Crossroads neighborhoods.”

The rental homes are located at the intersection of Highway 17-A and Third Avenue, immediately across from The Marketplace at Carnes Crossroads, a Publix-anchored mixed-use development that is currently under construction.

The development team includes Atlanta-based Dynamik Design, Thomas & Hutton (civil engineering) and Samet Corporation (general contractor).

“Our plans feature upscale homes and best-in-class amenities that stretch across 11 buildings on the site,” Yoeckel said.

Floorplans offer a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with upscale finishes, the release stated. Community amenities include separate small- and large-breed dog parks, a resort-style saltwater pool with lounge deck, an outdoor kitchen set on a community lawn, a club room with catering kitchen and golf stimulator, a state-of-the-art fitness complex and a co-working center. A coffee purveyor is set to bring classic specialties to The Village as well as the community at large.

The first units are expected to be available spring 2025.

GOOSE CREEK — Food connects people. Dining establishments can be more than just places to quell a fit of hunger. For the more than 7,000 Brazilian immigrants who live in South Carolina's eighth largest city, markets are the cornerstone of their livelihood.

The food sold at multiple Brazilian markets in Goose Creek provide Brazilians with a taste of their home. Their meaning goes beyond the produce and butchered-to-order meats.

Establishments like Sky Market Brazilian Restaurant and Bakery, which opened in November 2022, serve as gathering places for South Carolina residents of Brazilian descent, many of whom speak their native Portuguese and not English. Markets are where Brazilians residing here start to build the friendships and community that will become key to their lives in the U.S.

This makes them a pillar of the local community, said Morgan Bezerra, one of two women behind Smart News, a Goose Creek-based online news outlet that has published stories about South Carolina's Brazilian community in Portuguese, Spanish and English since launching in January.

Markets are a place where Brazilians can gather and find the products they have been missing, said Bezerra, who moved to South Carolina from Brazil in 2001. Whether they have been gone for one month or more than two decades, like Bezerra, Brazilians will always crave the connection and camaraderie they have been able to find at Sky Market, she said.

Born in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Sky Market co-owner Olinto Abrantes immigrated to the U.S. with his family during his childhood. In 2002, they settled in New Hampshire, home to a growing Brazilian population, much like the Boston area and town of Goose Creek.

Abrantes and longtime friend and business partner Felix Simonato eventually decided to move to South Carolina, where the climate felt more like home. They started a construction company, skills that came in handy when they found a vacant stand-alone building on South Goose Creek Boulevard. Once home to a derelict dive bar, the space required extensive renovations that took over 14 months.

Coming from the Northeast, Abrantes and Simonato were inspired by the quality Brazilian bakeries that dot the New England region.

“They have a bunch of bakeries up there. There’s a lot of Portuguese and Brazilian people — the community’s huge,” Abrantes said. “We came from there, so we see the opportunity to bring a good bakery down here.”

Though Sky Market's pastry chefs are churning out guava cookies (casadinho), sponge cakes named after well-known Brazilian beauty queen Marta Rocha and other treats, this approachable establishment is much more than a bakery; it's a full-service restaurant serving food from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Sky Market invites diners in for breakfast platters in the morning and fried beef jerky turnovers, sausage sandwiches and house-ground burgers on house-made buns later in the day. One emerging favorite on the lunch and dinner menu, Abrantes said, is the Rocket Burger, piled high with mozzarella, ham, bacon and a fried egg.

More than a business

Abrantes and Simonato aren’t the only Brazilian natives operating food and beverage establishments in Goose Creek.

Several Brazilian restaurants and businesses are concentrated in and around the Red Bank corridor, a section of the city that some believe could become the next Park Circle.

Mama’s Bakery & Restaurant opened in this now-vibrant part of Goose Creek in March 2022. Just over a mile away, Brazilian bakery and restaurant Delicias de Minas serves classic Brazilian dishes, savory stuffed pastries fried in wheat dough, sandwiches, sweet treats and an assortment of fresh juice such as graviola, known as soursop or the Brazilian paw paw. Heading southbound from Delicias de Minas, you’ll run into Brazilian steakhouse Chão Goiano.

When it comes to markets, Vitoria International Meat Market — which has locations in Lynn, Peabody, Revere and a handful of other Massachusetts towns — opened this year at 1230 Red Bank Road. Nearby, Brazilian Market operates at 225 Red Bank Road.

Brazilian Market owner Gislene Gontijo grew up in southeastern Brazil on a small farm, where her family kept chickens and pigs. Her mother started teaching her how to cook at age 7, and she has been interested in food ever since. After successfully selling everything from beans, rice and coffee to Brazilian hair products and cologne to customers who are “90 percent Brazilian," Gontijo plans to expand from the market's current 2,000-square-foot location to a new 20,000-square-foot space nearby in Goose Creek.

Boom & Balance

Sky Market is located across the railroad tracks from these destinations at 115 South Goose Creek Blvd. Those who enter the pristinely landscaped white brick building will find an assortment of beef that, like Sky Market’s burgers, is butchered in-house.

Guests can request their cut of meat or order one of the options displayed in a glass case, including wagyu and picanha, a popular Brazilian cut that has a texture similar to sirloin steak. Sausages — seasoned with garlic, olive oil and salt — are made to withstand the heat of the grill, and meatballs are formed into large rounds and sold in packs of 12 to 15.

Freezers are filled with more meat and whole fish like traira, a freshwater species found in the rivers of Brazil. A sweets refrigerator is stuffed to the brim with massive Nutella, coconut and peanut butter popsicles. All this is in addition to the many other Brazilian snacks and goods that line the market’s shelves. Patrons can even transfer money to Brazil at Sky Market.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCIV) — A white dust emitted from the Century Aluminum plant has been spreading through parts of Goose Creek.

Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib addressed the issue in a social media post on Oct. 2.

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According to Habib, the white dust is Alumina dust, which is produced during the smelting process. Alumina dust is not supposed to leave the plant and is considered an important component of plant's ability to make more aluminum.

Century Aluminum believes the emissions may be caused by an "unusual" failure in the plant's baghouse, according to Habib.

"As you may know, all exhaust from the manufacturing process runs through a scrubber to clean the air and the Alumina dust is collected into the bags in the baghouse," the mayor said in a statement. "Century Aluminum then takes the dust and reintroduces (it) into the manufacturing process to make more aluminum."

According to Habib, Century Aluminum is looking at two potential possibilities for the emissions. One possibility is a recent change of suppliers for the filters in the baghouse and another is recent episodes of high pressure in the baghouse.

The mayor says Century Aluminum reported the issues to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

"Century assures us they are working diligently to address these emission issues," Habib said in a statement. "I do not doubt this. The Mount Holly aluminum smelter has been in operation for more than 40 years. They employ hundreds of our friends and neighbors and have a tremendous impact on our local economy. In my 40 years of living here, I do not recall another issue related to emissions from the plant."

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Habib also says he has asked for a town hall from Century Aluminum and the DHEC.

An online petition was created on Oct. 1 demanding action to reduce aluminum emissions from the plant. As of Oct. 3, it has 333 signatures.