Toxic Water, Cute Little Kids, West Virginia « It’s Getting Hot In Here

After coal is mined, it is processed before burning. To keep nasty chemicals from getting into the air, coal companies “wash” the coal but (spoiler alert) these toxic chemicals don’t magically go away. The billions of gallons of water used to clean coal are full of arsenic, mercury, heavy metals, and a witches brew of acids. The toxic water is sometimes stored in unlined (meaning materials can leach into groundwater) sludge dams, like the 2.8 billion gallon dam over Marsh Fork Elementary school or the 132 million (tiny) one that busted in Buffalo Creek in 1972 that killed 125 people or the one that busted in Martin County, KY in 2000 that was 30 times larger than Exxon Valdez

Alternately, toxic coal sludge is injected underground into abandoned coal mines, which are also unlined and allow the toxic waste to seep into local well water. Most rural West Virginians depend on well water for drinking, cooking and bathing, and many face a 20 mile drive each way to pick up water from the store. And yes, that little girl has to bathe in that water. To learn more, check www.sludgesafety.org or here.

About

Dana works on the national council of the Student Environmental Action Coalition in Charleston, WV Visit www.seac.org. She likes to make papier mache stuff with five year olds. She likes mountains that haven't been blown all to hell. She likes communities that fight back when their mountains have been blown all to hell. She doesn't like coal, or blowing up mountains. She especially doesn't like (not so) Clean Coal (no such thing) and thinks Carbon Sequestration is a bad deal for communities and kids. And really, who else matters?

3 Responses to “Toxic Water, Cute Little Kids, West Virginia”

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1 Anastasia H Apr 8th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

The coal mines need to be held accountable, the orange streams seem to be increasing. Lets keep WV beautiful! I like the penny demonstration and the little girl is adorable
2 Sandy Staats Oct 10th, 2009 at 6:02 pm

There has to be a better way. West Virginia has been the US toilet for too long. People do not know about this stuff! Even a few hours north, most have never heard of it.
I have, thanks to James Rymer. I am trying to raise awareness, but evidently I used the wrong person’s photograph. Now I’m facing copyright infringement.
Some think I walk both sides of the aisle, however, I see a gray area. Most only see black or white.
Everyone needs affordable power, but not at the expense of West Virginia and other coal states.