Developments in the Charleston, West Virginia Chemical Spill

Freedom Industries in Charleston, West Virginia is responsible for the chemical spill and contamination the public water supply of eight counties.
Freedom Industries in Charleston, West Virginia is responsible for the chemical spill and contamination the public water supply of eight counties.

Freedom Industries in Charleston, West Virginia is responsible for the contamination the public water supply of eight counties.

In January, 2014 a serious health crisis unfolded around Charleston, West Virginia that left hundreds of residents seeking medical attention with serious ailments directly caused by ingesting chemically poisoned water, and over 300,000 unable to drink their tap water.

It started when a large amount of a toxic coal cleaning chemical 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) leaked from a storage tank into the regions main water supply.

The company responsible for the spill, Freedom Industries saw nothing wrong with storing highly toxic chemicals in a seventy-year-old storage tank directly on the bank of the regions main water supply, the Elk River.

Public Relations Statements Meant to Deceive

Residents of the area have been told that it’s okay to drink the water.

It’s now come to light this past week that there was a second toxic chemical, Polyglycol (PPH) that made up the mixture that had contaminated the regions water supply. Experts are saying that PPH is no less dangerous than MCHM to all life forms.

Residents of the area have been told that it’s okay to drink the water.
Residents of the area have been told that it’s okay to drink the water.

An industry magazine, Business Insider has stated that these very chemicals have been dumped into water supplies for decades in varying quantities without public knowledge.

A West Virginia miner, Joe Stanley has stated, “I watched the coal industry poison our water for years… MCHM was just one of the chemicals that we were told was highly toxic, but that we dumped in the old mine shafts, and slurry ponds and it’s been seeping into the groundwater for years.”

Mr. Stanley sums up his statement with a simple, but grave warning, “Don’t drink the water.”

Sources:

National Toxicology Program – U.S. HHS – West Virginia Chemical Spill

Settlement Deal Reached In 2014 West Virginia Chemical Spill

According to Associated Press, almost three-quarters of all coal mines in the U.S. have not been inspected for over five years.

In the age of toxicity, the only way to assure that you’re drinking clean water is to install your own Home Water Filter System. Reverse Osmosis systems greatly reduces or eliminates contaminants in your drinking water.

A Residential Reverse Osmosis system is your most effective way to remove the widest range of toxins and other contaminants from your drinking water.

Sources:


Share this article: