MIDDLEBURG – A Facebook video created by a county resident has resurrected a groundswell of concern regarding potential health and environmental effects caused by the recycled power plant ash turned building material called EZBase.

The video posted by Charles Hodges, which has been viewed nearly 1,000 times by county residents, is a broad overture regarding the many concerns residents have, including residual heavy metals in the material some residents believe may be polluting Middleburg soil and water.

Roughly 50 individuals gathered at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge in Middleburg last Thursday night with County Commissioner Gavin Rollins to discuss their concerns.

The informal meeting gave residents the chance to voice their concerns on some medium other than the internet.

Middleburg resident Tammy McCarthy said her neighbors are concerned that 22 residents out of 24 homes along three roads connected to Hatcher Road in Middleburg have some form of cancer.

“To me, that’s a lot of people,” she said. “I still don’t know if it’s something worth looking into, but…something’s there.”

Roughly 16,500 tons of EZBase were used to in 2009 to cover dirt roads near wetlands on Middleburg’s Black Creek.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave JEA authorization in 2005 to market the product, which is derived from burned petroleum, coal and limestone from JEA’s Northside Generating Station. Officials at that time did not intend for its use near waterways, where the material could possibly leach chemicals into wells.

“As I’ve learned more about it…it seems like there are various people who may have issues about this and think that it may have had health impacts on their family,” said Rollins, whose county commissioner district encompasses the suspect areas containing EZBase.

Rollins also said that EZBase has been used on Camp Blanding property after the Board of County Commissioners sent a letter to the Jacksonville-owned utility in 2013 to stop placing the product within the county.

Other counties have had similar moves, but few have been able to force the utility to remove the product that has already been placed within their jurisdictions.

In 2010, JEA spent millions reclaiming the product from Charlton County, Georgia, after the Georgia Department of Natural Resources questioned whether the product would pollute the environment and, in turn, the community.

Rollins plans to research the best methods on how residents can test their water to give residents more piece of mind. He encouraged residents who can get accurate tests done to get in touch with him so he can distribute the information to other policymakers accordingly.

“All I know is there’s a concern, I’m concerned, and I’m going to fight to try and get something done about it, but the challenge is it’s not a one man fight, it’s not a one woman fight,” Rollins said.