dollarbill
01-10-2014, 08:14
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/10/west-virginia-chemical-spill-gov-declares-emergency
Chemical spill has West Virginia scrambling for water.
FlagDayNCO
01-13-2014, 09:05
I have noticed that the news articles are specific in mentioning this is a COAL industry related chemical.
Good or bad, the coal industry is being labeled ugly in West Virginia.
I am sure another line item for the Fed's EPA war on coal.
Coal Chemical Spill Contaminates Drinking Water Prompting State of Emergency in West Virginia
By Kiley Kroh
Residents of nine counties in West Virginia have been told not to use or drink their water after a chemical used by the coal industry spilled into the Elk River on Thursday. Gov. Tomblin (D-WV) declared a state of emergency as more than 100,000 customers, or 300,000 people, are without safe drinking water.
The chemical, 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, used to wash coal of impurities spilled from a tank at Freedom Industries into the Elk River, contaminating the drinking water for more than 300,000 residents.
“Don’t make baby formula,” said West Virginia American Water Company president Jeff McIntyre. “Don’t brush your teeth. Don’t shower. Toilet flushing only.”
The chemical, 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol (MCHM), is used to wash coal of impurities and spilled from a tank at Freedom Industries into the river. While the amount of MCHM that spilled wasn’t immediately known, West Virginia American Water has been conducting water quality testing every hour. According to Laura Jordan, a spokesperson with the water company, they believe the chemical is leaking at ground level and “there is a possibility this leak has been going on for sometime before it was discovered Thursday,” WSAZ reported.
Local officials described MCHM as smelling like licorice and looking like “cooking oil floating on top of the water.” The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources said symptoms of MCHM exposure include “severe burning in throat, severe eye irritation, non-stop vomiting, trouble breathing or severe skin irritation such as skin blistering.”
Though the spill occurred Thursday morning, West Virginia American Water didn’t provide its customers with a warning until evening and, as Al Jazeera reported, several were angered by the lack of information, particularly regarding what should be done if they had already used or ingested the water.
Early Friday, Tomblin announced that the White House approved a federal emergency declaration to help with the urgent water situation. Soon after the Governor’s declaration on Thursday, residents flooded local stores for bottled water and disposable dishes. “It was chaos, that’s what it was,” cashier Danny Cardwell told CBS News.
West Virginia American Water has emphasized that once contaminated by MCHM, the water cannot be treated. As a result, schools in at least five of the counties will be closed Friday and hospitals, restaurants, nursing homes and other establishments in the area are also banned from using their water as the entire system is flushed out and testing continues. As of early Friday, Freedom Industries, “a full service producer of specialty chemicals for the mining, steel, and cement industries,” had yet to comment on the spill.
http://ecowatch.com/2014/01/10/coal-chemical-contaminates-drinking-water-state-of-emergency-wv/
I have noticed that the news articles are specific in mentioning this is a COAL industry related chemical.
Good or bad, the coal industry is being labeled ugly in West Virginia.
I am sure another line item for the Fed's EPA war on coal.
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Something to also put into perspective is the price of coal and major US coal mining company share prices are in the toilet.
I'm aware of a decent chunk of what could be considered "smart money", looking to pull the trigger and dump a lot of money into coal.
Top tier coal companies like BTU, ANR, ACI are off 80-90% from their highs in the last 2-3 years, but coal use in the US is still HUGE and not likely to change significantly.
Especially with the push for GCC disengagement and shift towards energy independence.
I think "smart money" will be doing some bottom feeding soon investing in US coal as a safe analog to oil.
Could the attack on coal be an attempt to bottom feed by influential special interests?
Just my 0.02c