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Tag: West Virginia water

  • Coal Slurry Spill Wreaks Havoc In WV

    Over one hundred thousand gallons of coal slurry is thought to have leaked into Fields Creek, blackening several miles of water in eastern Kanawha County, WV.

    The state Department of Environmental Protection says that officials are investigating the spill.

    The source of the leak is Patriot Coal, where a malfunction is said to have occurred inside a slurry valve. Janine Orf, a vice president at Patriot Coal, stated that containment efforts by the company began in the immediate aftermath of the spill and that cleanup efforts are ongoing.

    EPA officials stated that the water in Kanawha County was safe to drink, although there are some warnings in place due to an unrelated spill that occurred in January.

    That spill involved the leaking of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol or MCHM into the water. MCHM is a chemical that is used to wash coal and reduce ash ahead of its sale. That leak largely affected to Elk River. The January spill left upwards of 300,000 people unable to drink, bathe, or cook with water for about a week.

    A federal grand jury is currently investigating the MCHM spill. CNN was informed that subpoenas have been sent out in relation to the January leak. The network tested water independently and found traces of MCHM in untested waters and tap water.

    The coal slurry leak has local residents even more baffled and concerned.

    U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller has the same doubts as his constituents over the cleanliness and safety of the water in West Virginia in the aftermath of these serious spills.

    “I wouldn’t drink that water if you paid me,” he told NPR earlier in the week. “Nobody has said that it’s safe.”

    As investigations into both spills continue, it’s very likely that West Virginia natives will be far more inclined to rely on bottled water until affected and potentially water sources are deemed safe.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • West Virginia Chemical Spill Hurting The Economy

    A chemical spill has put much of West Virginia in a state of emergency. Because the chemicals have leaked into ground water, a water ban has been issued for the state. Over 300,000 people in the area are without water and many businesses and schools have closed as a result of the spill and the tap water ban.

    President Obama issued an emergency declaration for the state of West Virginia on Friday and ordered federal aid to assist with the cleanup and aftermath of the spill. The spill happened on Thursday on the Elk River where 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol was leaked into the water.

    The governor issued a tap water ban and warned residents to only use water to flush toilets and not to consume it or bathe in it. He said,

    “West Virginians in the affected service areas are urged not to use tap water for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing.” “Right now, our priorities are our hospitals, nursing homes and schools.”

    While businesses may not be a priority, business owners are losing money everyday that the ban is in effect. Not only are the locals not visiting their favorite restaurants and stores, but travelers and visitors are staying out of West Virginia for the time being as well. Nine counties have been affected by the chemical spill and water companies are saying it could still be days before it is safe to use tap water again.

    FEMA has delivered several trucks of water to the area but many people are unable to haul enough water to their homes to use as needed. Business owners weren’t the only ones frustrated by the closings. Many West Virginia residents who are unable to cook were depending on restaurants for meals.

    “I haven’t been able to cook anything at home and was hoping they were open,” Bill Rogers, 52, said outside a closed Tudor’s Biscuit World.

    The National Guard has said that they will need a 24-hour period where water samples are below 1 part per million before they can lift the tap water ban and allow West Virginia residents to use their water again.

    Image via YouTube.

  • West Virginia Tap Water Remains Unsafe

    A chemical spill with a strange, licorice-like smell has led to a massive water shortage in parts of West Virginia. The spill came from a tank belonging to Freedom Industries, a company that produces specialty chemicals for the mining, steel and cement industries.

    The spill happened Thursday, when as much as 5,000 gallons of a chemical called 4-methylcyclohexane methanol or Crude MCHM overran the containment area. It gushed into the Elk River and a nearby water treatment plant.

    The Charleston Gazette reported that it was the state Department of Environmental Protection’s air-quality officials that discovered that a leak had occurred.

    On Friday, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties: Kanawha, Putnam, Jackson, Clay, Lincoln, Logan, Roane ,Boone, and parts of Cabell County. The affected area also includes the state capital of Charleston, the state’s largest city.

    In a press conference, he urged water customers in the affected counties to stop using water for everything but flushing toilets and fighting fires.

    “Do not drink it. Do not cook with it. Do not wash clothes in it. Do not take a bath in it. Please do not use any tap water if you’re a customer of West Virginia American Water.” Tomblin extended this warning to hospitals, restaurants, and other local businesses.

    the spill prompted President Obama to issue a state of emergency for the state within the same time period as the West Virginia governor, granting the state access to federal help in dealing with the massive chemical spill and its effects on local water supplies.

    The situation remains tense for West Virginia citizens. Within hours of the news spreading regarding the tap water situation, many stores in the region had sold out of bottled water. It reached the point where the sheriff’s office in Kanawha county reported 911 calls received due to fights breaking out over the remaining bottles.

    Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water Co, told reporters on Saturday that his company has, “employees that have worked this (water) system that are extremely knowledgeable.” McIntyre stated that at present they were collecting samples and looking at flushing activity. The president of the water treatment plant emphasized that though they were hard at work to fix the problem, a solution to the situation would not be happening overnight.

    “We are talking days before water quality meets federally mandated quality standards”

    The 1 part per million requirement set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be satisfied before any ban can be lifted. In the meantime, residents are forced to make due anyway they can.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • West Virginia Chemical Spill Affects Drinking Water

    On Thursday, a tank at Freedom Industries leaked dangerous chemicals into the Elk River in Charleston, Virginia. Nine counties in West Virginia have been warned not to drink, bathe, cook or do laundry with their tap water because of the contamination hazards posed by this spill.

    The chemical is a foaming agent that is used in processing coal, and approximately 100,000 water customers have been warned about the contamination.

    Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for areas surrounding Elk River whose water has been affected.

    The counties affected at this time, include: Kanawha, Cabell, Boone, Putnam, Lincoln, Logan, Clay, Roane and Jackson.

    “The water has been contaminated,” said Tomblin, who could not give a time reference on how long the hazard would last.

    The chemical that spilled out of the tank, that was designed to go into a containment area to prevent contamination, ran out of that safety area and began polluting the river. The amount that went into the river is unknown at this time, however, West Virginia American Water Company has a treatment plant that services the affected customers.

    Although it is not currently clear that the hazard spill is even an immediate threat, as there haven’t been reports of sickness, officials are taking every precaution to warn those in the Elk River area, until they can determine how much of the chemical actually went into the river and how much affected the tap water.

    “I don’t know if the water is not safe,” said water company president Jeff McIntyre.

    Further, McIntyre said the warning was issued, “because we don’t know. I don’t have anything to indicate the water is not safe. It’s an abundance of caution that we’re taking this step. We don’t do this lightly, tell our customers not to use the water.”

    Gov. Tomblin said he’s asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to send ample supplies of bottled water.

    Although, once the emergency reached customers, they immediately emptied shelves of bottled water, as well as paper supplies for eating and drinking.

    McIntyre reported that the water is being tested to find out exactly how much of the chemical got into the tap water. And even though it is in a weaker concentration, it could still be detrimental.

    “Until we get out and flush the actual system and do more testing, we can’t say how long this (advisory) will last at this time,” McIntyre said. Adding that when the advisory was first issued for five counties, that as many as 100,000 customers were affected. The company has 170,000 customers in 17 West Virginia counties, as well as in Ohio and Virginia.

    McIntyre said It is also important to note that boiling the water won’t remove the chemical, advising that water be used for “toilet flushing only” until they can determine the severity of the contamination.

    Image via YouTube