The recent chemical spill in West Virginia that is affecting hundreds of thousands of people is becoming a sticky situation. There was a spill that lead into the Kanawha river in January 2014, and there has been another reported spill just a month later. The latest spill was in Fields Creek, which leads to the Kanawha river. This spill is being referred to as a coal slurry, which is the fluid that is left after the coal is washed, before it is shipped. This spill has now turned six miles of Fields Creek into a blackened mess (seen below). The Department of Environmental Protection reports that this spill “isn’t as significant” as the one in January, but is in fact a pretty serious amount of slurry and will be adding on the problems that are already present in the Kanawha River. This is a devastating blow to the surrounding residents because their drinking water continues to be contaminated, making the recovery time for the river even longer. My question is, how does this keep happening? Is it a coincidence that there have been two chemical spills in the same are in West Virginia in consecutive months? The Water and Waste division of the Environmental Enforcement in West Virginia is responsible for inspections, enforcement, as well as emergency response for these types of incidents. There seems to be a flaw in their management and enforcement seeing as these companies that are responsible for the spill hadn’t recently been inspected. This issue of weak enforcement can and will continue to lead to disasters like these, and without their help issues with inspections and regulation enforcement will continue to arise. Without strict enforcement from the government, big chemical businesses will not abide by their regulation. This is not just an issue in West Virginia, but around the country.
Articles: http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201402110032
http://www.msnbc.com/all/another-chemical-spill-west-virginia
Image: http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201402110032
Featured Image: http://www.rtcc.org/2014/01/14/us-coal-industry-faces-scrutiny-after-west-virginia-chemical-spill/