Former West Virginia Miner: We've Been Dumping Those Chemicals In The Water For Decades
When up to 7,500 gallons of toxic 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM) spilled into the Elk River in West Virginia, leaving 300,000 people without tap water for around a week, former miner Joe Stanley was well prepared. He hadnt been drinking the water for years.
Stanley, 64, worked at West Virginia's Marrowbone Coal Mine from 1981 to 1996. His employer was Massey Energy, the same company responsible for the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster in 2010 that killed 29 miners and which was bought out in 2011.
Stanley says he lost his job after a conflict with management, when he, as union president, demanded an inquiry into certain chemicals that were being used in the mine. He claims that mine workers, particularly electricians and pinners, were getting sick.
Decades later, the truth is hard to determine; however, we're more interested in his bleak outlook on pollution.
http://www.businessinsider.com/mchm-is-nothing-new-in-our-water-2014-1
FarPoint
(14,647 posts)I suspected this all along....no monitoring for YEARS occurred for a reason. This was no freak accident event but ongoing gross neglect spawned by greed. They didn't even report this mega spill for hours.
Aristus
(71,871 posts)"Aw shit, yeah. We bin doin' 'at fer years! Don't know whut everbody's gittin' so persnickety about!"
Maybe because you've known about this for decades, but didn't say anything about it decades ago!
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Response to jakeXT (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
