Saturday, January 11, 2014

A Toxic Spill of a Chemical Used In the Coal Industry Causes State of Emergency in Nine West Virginia Counties

 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
 
theguardian.com, 

Elk River Chemical Spill
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.
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