How devastating! Another world is possible. ~ Molly
*****
West Virginia chemical spill hits water supplies
Up to 300,000 face tap ban and schools and shops close after 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol spills into Elk river in Charleston
Workers
pump a foaming agent used in the coal preparation process at Freedom
Industries in Charleston. Photograph: Tyler Evert/AP
A chemical spill along a West Virginia river
has resulted in a tap water ban for as many as 300,000 people, shutting
down schools, bars and restaurants and forcing residents to queue at
stores for bottled water.
Governor
Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency for nine counties as a
result of Thursday's spill of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, a chemical
used in the coal industry. The spill occurred along the Elk river in
Charleston, the capital of the eastern US state.
Health officials were advising residents to use the water only for flushing toilets and fighting fires.
"West
Virginians in the affected service areas are urged not to use tap water
for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing," Tomblin said in a
statement. "Right now, our priorities are our hospitals, nursing homes
and schools."
Local
media showed pictures of West Virginia residents queuing at stores for
bottled water, and shelves that had been emptied of their supplies.
Dr
Rahul Gupta, health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston and the Putnam
County health departments, ordered the closure of all restaurants,
tattoo parlours and schools that received water from the West Virginia
American Water company.
Schools
would be closed on Friday across many counties, including Boone,
Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Pocahontas, and Putnam, the
West Virginia department of education said on its website.
"You
can't have schools without water," said Tomblin's spokeswoman, Amy
Shuler Goodwin, who added that she did not know when the ban would be
lifted.
Tomblin
said his office was working with the National Guard and the state's
office of emergency services to provide water and supplies through
county emergency services offices as quickly as possible.
The
spill originated at Freedom Industries, a Charleston company, according
to Laura Jordan, external affairs manager for West Virginia American
Water.
It
occurred right above the intake of the Kanawha Valley water treatment
plant in Charleston – the largest in West Virginia – and affects 100,000
homes and businesses, or 250,000 to 300,000 people, Jordan said.
"It could be potentially harmful if swallowed and could potentially cause skin and eye irritation," she said.
Shuler
Goodwin said the West Virginia department of environment protection
received a report on Thursday morning of an odour – described in local
media as resembling black licorice – and visited the Freedom Industries
site, where officials found a leaking storage unit.
Jordan
said the company and state environmental officials were conducting
tests on the water. The company was also working with state and federal
authorities to get residents access to bottled water, and the location
of water distribution sites would be announced through local media.
A
representative of Freedom Industries did not respond to requests for
comment. The company website says it is a producer of specialty
chemicals for the mining, steel and cement industries.
Please go here for the original article:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/10/west-virginia-chemical-spill-elk-river-charleston
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/10/west-virginia-chemical-spill-elk-river-charleston
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