What are you going to drink when there is no more clean drinking water?
Via OWS Week on Facebook.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Chemical spill contaminates water supply in W.Va.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - At least
100,000 customers in nine West Virginia counties were told not to drink, bathe,
cook or wash clothes using their tap water because of a chemical spill into the
Elk River in Charleston, with Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declaring a state of
emergency Thursday for all those areas.
The chemical, a foaming agent used in the coal preparation process, leaked from a tank at Freedom Industries, overran a containment area and went into the river earlier Thursday. The amount that spilled wasn't immediately known, but West Virginia American Water has a treatment plant nearby and it is the company's customers who are affected.
"The water has been contaminated," said Tomblin, who didn't know how long the emergency declaration would last.
Officials, though, said they aren't sure what hazard the spill poses to humans and that there were no immediate reports of people getting sick. It also was not immediately clear how much spilled into the river and in what concentration.
"I don't know if the water is not safe," said water company president Jeff McIntyre.
Tomblin said he's asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist the state with supplies of bottled water. But people weren't waiting.
Once word got out about the governor's declaration, customers stripped store shelves in many areas of items such as bottled water, paper cups and bowls.
As many as 50 customers had lined up to buy water at a convenience store near the state Capitol in Charleston.
"It was chaos, that's what it was," cashier Danny Cardwell said.
The don't-drink-the-water declaration involves customers in the counties of Kanawha, Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane. Most of the counties surround the capital city of Charleston, where there was a chemical smell similar to licorice in the air both outdoors and in areas where it had already reached the water supply on Thursday night.
West Virginia lawmakers who just started their session this week won't conduct business on Friday because of the problem and State Department of Education spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro said schools in at least five of the counties will be closed. Many students already missed some time this week because of the frigid weather.
McIntyre said the advisory was issued "because we don't know. I don't have anything to indicate the water is not safe. It's an abundance of caution that we're taking this step. We don't do this lightly, tell our customers not to use the water."
McIntyre said testing is being conducted to determine the concentrations of the chemical that have gone through the water system. But he said the chemical was in a much weaker concentration when it reached the water treatment plant through the river.
"Until we get out and flush the actual system and do more testing, we can't say how long this (advisory) will last at this time," McIntyre said. When the advisory was first issued for five counties, that as many as 100,000 customers were affected. The company has 170,000 customers in 17 West Virginia counties, as well as in Ohio and Virginia.
Freedom Industries did not immediately respond for comment. The Elk River flows into the Kanawha River in downtown Charleston. The Kanawha eventually flows into the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, about 55 miles to the northwest.
Senate Majority Leader John Unger, D-Martinsburg, said all committee meetings have been canceled and lawmakers will adjourn until at least Monday. Other government offices also will be closed.
Unger, who co-chairs the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources, said dozens of miles of pipe are affected by the spill.
"Flushing it out, that's going to take some time," Unger told The Associated Press. "You can imagine the infrastructure of the piping through the city and all of those counties."
McIntyre and Tomblin said boiling water first to remove impurities won't help as it sometimes does.
"Don't make baby formula," McIntyre said. "Don't brush your teeth. Don't shower. Toilet flushing only."
McIntyre and state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management director Jimmy Gianato said the chemical isn't lethal in its strongest form. Kanawha County emergency officials said the chemical is called 4-methylcyclohexane methanol.
According to a fact sheet from Fisher Scientific, the chemical is harmful if swallowed and causes eye and skin irritation and could be harmful if inhaled.
Tomblin said the advisory also extends to restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes and other establishments that use tap water.
West Virginia Delegate Michael Manypenny, D-Taylor, who co-chairs the water resources committee with Unger, said he's been pushing for stronger oversight of industries in order to protect the state's water resources. He said the spill will add fuel to his argument.
"This leaves a lot of questions," he said. "And I think we're going to need an inquiry on why this happens and what we can do to prevent it."
Read full article here
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A Freedom Industries worker places a boom in the Elk River. AP |
The chemical, a foaming agent used in the coal preparation process, leaked from a tank at Freedom Industries, overran a containment area and went into the river earlier Thursday. The amount that spilled wasn't immediately known, but West Virginia American Water has a treatment plant nearby and it is the company's customers who are affected.
"The water has been contaminated," said Tomblin, who didn't know how long the emergency declaration would last.
Officials, though, said they aren't sure what hazard the spill poses to humans and that there were no immediate reports of people getting sick. It also was not immediately clear how much spilled into the river and in what concentration.
"I don't know if the water is not safe," said water company president Jeff McIntyre.
Tomblin said he's asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist the state with supplies of bottled water. But people weren't waiting.
Once word got out about the governor's declaration, customers stripped store shelves in many areas of items such as bottled water, paper cups and bowls.
As many as 50 customers had lined up to buy water at a convenience store near the state Capitol in Charleston.
"It was chaos, that's what it was," cashier Danny Cardwell said.
The don't-drink-the-water declaration involves customers in the counties of Kanawha, Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane. Most of the counties surround the capital city of Charleston, where there was a chemical smell similar to licorice in the air both outdoors and in areas where it had already reached the water supply on Thursday night.
West Virginia lawmakers who just started their session this week won't conduct business on Friday because of the problem and State Department of Education spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro said schools in at least five of the counties will be closed. Many students already missed some time this week because of the frigid weather.
McIntyre said the advisory was issued "because we don't know. I don't have anything to indicate the water is not safe. It's an abundance of caution that we're taking this step. We don't do this lightly, tell our customers not to use the water."
McIntyre said testing is being conducted to determine the concentrations of the chemical that have gone through the water system. But he said the chemical was in a much weaker concentration when it reached the water treatment plant through the river.
"Until we get out and flush the actual system and do more testing, we can't say how long this (advisory) will last at this time," McIntyre said. When the advisory was first issued for five counties, that as many as 100,000 customers were affected. The company has 170,000 customers in 17 West Virginia counties, as well as in Ohio and Virginia.
Freedom Industries did not immediately respond for comment. The Elk River flows into the Kanawha River in downtown Charleston. The Kanawha eventually flows into the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, about 55 miles to the northwest.
Senate Majority Leader John Unger, D-Martinsburg, said all committee meetings have been canceled and lawmakers will adjourn until at least Monday. Other government offices also will be closed.
Unger, who co-chairs the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources, said dozens of miles of pipe are affected by the spill.
"Flushing it out, that's going to take some time," Unger told The Associated Press. "You can imagine the infrastructure of the piping through the city and all of those counties."
McIntyre and Tomblin said boiling water first to remove impurities won't help as it sometimes does.
"Don't make baby formula," McIntyre said. "Don't brush your teeth. Don't shower. Toilet flushing only."
McIntyre and state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management director Jimmy Gianato said the chemical isn't lethal in its strongest form. Kanawha County emergency officials said the chemical is called 4-methylcyclohexane methanol.
According to a fact sheet from Fisher Scientific, the chemical is harmful if swallowed and causes eye and skin irritation and could be harmful if inhaled.
Tomblin said the advisory also extends to restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes and other establishments that use tap water.
West Virginia Delegate Michael Manypenny, D-Taylor, who co-chairs the water resources committee with Unger, said he's been pushing for stronger oversight of industries in order to protect the state's water resources. He said the spill will add fuel to his argument.
"This leaves a lot of questions," he said. "And I think we're going to need an inquiry on why this happens and what we can do to prevent it."
Read full article here
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
10 Cities That Could Run Out Of Water
Growing Populations, Stressed Water Supplies
This article by Terrell Johnson appeared on The Weather Channel website, December 18, 2013.
Securing access to plentiful, renewable sources of fresh water is among the biggest struggles large cities around the world face. Growing populations and declining fresh water supplies – from rapidly depleting aquifers as well as drought-stricken reservoirs and rivers – mean that cities are scrambling to find solutions.In the pages that follow, we look at 10 major U.S. cities facing some of the nation's most acute water shortages, and the hurdles they face in obtaining enough water to meet their citizens', and industries', needs.
Read more...
Friday, May 31, 2013
California Marine Plastic Pollution Policy Tangled Up in Committee
If you care about the environment - especially water issues - you're probably already signed up for EcoWatch's Top News of the Day.
If you are already signed up, you would have received this news in your Inbox:
California Marine Plastic Pollution Policy Tangled Up in Committee
By Leila Monroe
Last Friday, members of the California Assembly Appropriations Committee stopped Assembly Bill 521—a groundbreaking proposal to create a statewide marine plastic pollution producer responsibility program—from moving forward in the legislature. This is a missed opportunity to better protect our oceans, marine life, economy and communities from costly and harmful marine plastic pollution, but we are undeterred in our support for the solutions presented in this bill. We will continue to work to advance this program, and we are grateful for the strong leadership of authors Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) and Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego).
According to an Associated Press story carried by the Washington Post and other outlets, Assembly Member Stone described the value of the marine plastic pollution producer responsibility program:
This program would have encouraged industry to reduce the amount of plastic it produces (especially single-use packaging) and share the costs of cleaning up what remains. By doing so, it would protect California’s ocean, beaches and communities from plastic pollution and reduce costly waste management, litter cleanup and recycling. In its 2008 report, CalRecycle estimated that Californians dump 3.8 million tons of plastic into state landfills every year—plastic that could be recycled or avoided all together.
California’s ocean and coastal tourism and leisure industries generated $92 million in GDP for the state in 2010 and supported 1.9 million jobs. By reducing plastic pollution, birds, turtles, whales and other sea creatures are also better protected from the waste that often kills or harms marine life when they swallow or become tangled in plastics found in our oceans that may kill them. This economic activity is dependent on a healthy and thriving ocean and marine life in order to succeed.
Read more at: http://ecowatch.com/2013/california-plastic-pollution-policy-tangled-up-committee/
If you are already signed up, you would have received this news in your Inbox:
California Marine Plastic Pollution Policy Tangled Up in Committee
By Leila Monroe
Last Friday, members of the California Assembly Appropriations Committee stopped Assembly Bill 521—a groundbreaking proposal to create a statewide marine plastic pollution producer responsibility program—from moving forward in the legislature. This is a missed opportunity to better protect our oceans, marine life, economy and communities from costly and harmful marine plastic pollution, but we are undeterred in our support for the solutions presented in this bill. We will continue to work to advance this program, and we are grateful for the strong leadership of authors Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) and Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego).
Cities and counties spend hundreds of
millions of dollars per year cleaning up plastic trash that is on its
way into the ocean. Isn’t an increased cost tied to making a new product
that is causing a problem better than a taxpayer paying for it after it
becomes a problem?
This program would have encouraged industry to reduce the amount of plastic it produces (especially single-use packaging) and share the costs of cleaning up what remains. By doing so, it would protect California’s ocean, beaches and communities from plastic pollution and reduce costly waste management, litter cleanup and recycling. In its 2008 report, CalRecycle estimated that Californians dump 3.8 million tons of plastic into state landfills every year—plastic that could be recycled or avoided all together.
California’s ocean and coastal tourism and leisure industries generated $92 million in GDP for the state in 2010 and supported 1.9 million jobs. By reducing plastic pollution, birds, turtles, whales and other sea creatures are also better protected from the waste that often kills or harms marine life when they swallow or become tangled in plastics found in our oceans that may kill them. This economic activity is dependent on a healthy and thriving ocean and marine life in order to succeed.
Read more at: http://ecowatch.com/2013/california-plastic-pollution-policy-tangled-up-committee/
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Responsible Gold Mining & Sustainable Development
Sue George,
The Guardian UK
Three key figures from the gold industry discuss the role of the Conflict-Free Gold Standard in ensuring responsible mining and explore whether it is achieving what it set out to do.
 |
| Copyright Adriane Ohanesian/Reuters |
On the podcast discussing the Standard and its role in responsible gold mining are Terry Heymann, director, Responsible Gold, at the World Gold Council; Ruth Crowell, deputy chief executive at the London Bullion Market Association and Sophia Pickles, campaigner at NGO Global Witness.
Gold is one of the world's most valuable and desirable commodities. Despite the recent slump in gold prices – after a long period of growth – it remains one of the most significant sources of revenue for many countries. Gold is also used in a wide range of applications from technology to health to currency; 60% of gold is turned into jewellery.
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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/responsible-gold-mining-sustainable-development-podcast
Monday, May 27, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Chile Fines Barrick Gold $16m for Pascua-Lama Mine
Comment:
Mining for gold
takes a toll on the environment in many ways. While clean up efforts at
abandoned mines remain a problem, the effects of gold mining on air, water and
soil at active mine sites need to be monitored closely.
Air pollution is
created in several ways. One is from the road traffic near the mines where
heavy trucks carrying waste and ore generate large amounts of dust. Daily
traffic is enough to cause severe air pollution in mining areas. The smelting
process used to refine the ore releases lead into the air creating even more
problems.
Water is
polluted through a process called leaching where ore is removed from the waste
using cyanide. Although the cyanide is supposed to be collected in contained
reservoirs it is not difficult to imagine that unless strict controls are in
place, the run-off finds its way into water systems in the mining area. To make
matters worse, some mine owners intentionally dispose of waste into nearby
water systems.
Gold mining
leaves many toxins in the soil that create health hazards for humans and
animals for years to come. Heavy metals and other toxins remain in the soil for
many decades making soil pollution a major issue in mining areas.
While it is good
news that authorities in Chile have fined Barrick Gold for environmental
offences at the Pascua-Lama mine, the long-term damage is yet to be known.
Chile fines Barrick Gold $16m for Pascua-Lama mine
Chilean
authorities have fined the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold
Corp, more than $16m for environmental offences.
The news led
to share trading in the Canadian-owned company being halted in New York and
Toronto after a sell-off. But activists
complained that the fine was only 0.1% of the total operation.
"The
resolution is convenient to the offender, a derisive fine for a company such as
Barrick Gold," Greenpeace said on a statement.
Despite
criticism, the government said the fine was the highest possible under Chilean
law.
'No environmental damage'
The
environmental authorities said the mining company committed four
"serious" and one "very serious" offences. The latter was
a commitment made by Barrick Gold to put in place water treatment systems to
contain contaminated waste water and to prevent rainwater contamination.
The company
itself reported its shortcomings to the environmental authorities, which led to
an investigation. Barrick Gold
Corp acknowledged the failures and promised to work on solutions.
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