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Location of Industry in Midlothian, Texas
The cement and steel
facilities are all located within close proximity to one another on either
side of the limestone escarpment that supplies the cement plants with their
raw material. Highway 67 traces that escarpment through Midlothian. Running
roughly on a northeast-southwest axis, this escarpment is the single largest
topographical feature in north Texas. On top of it in near-by Cedar Hill are
all of the region's TV and radio transmission towers because its ridge line
is the highest point for a hundred miles in all directions. By almost any
other region's standards, this escarpment would go unnoticed, but here on
the plains, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
NTCC and Holnam are located across Highway 67 from each other
approximately 2 miles north of central Midlothian. Holnam sits on top of the
escarpment to the east, while NTCC sits at its base to the west. NTCC's
smokestacks top out at around the same height as the top of the escarpment,
or rooftops built on top of the escarpment.
TXI and Chaparral are located across the street from one another two
miles southwest of central Midlothian, on the other side of town from NTCC
and Holnam. They both sit at the bottom of the escarpment, which rings them
on the east and southern sides.
Looking due north from the escarpment behind TXI, one can see the ridge
line of the escarpment to the right heading north toward Dallas, with North
Texas at its bottom and Holnam on top. From the escarpment's ridge line to
as far west as the eye can see are the plains, so that it's probable that
the escarpment "channels" air pollution from TXI and North Texas directly
north into Cedar Hill (and Lake Ridge), South Grand Prairie, South Arlington
and beyond. It's also probable that wind coming from the south, sweeping
over the escarpment and onto the plains does not conform to traditional air
dispersion modeling scenarios.
Winds are predominately from the south in the spring and summer, from the
north in winter. However caution should be taken in applying this wind rose.
The escarpment, Joe Pool Lake and large deep quarries seem to make
mini-climate eddies in and around the plants and Midlothian.
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