What the Elk River Chemical Spill Means to Us 

                                                                     By ANN PINCA

On January 9, several hundred thousand West Virginia residents suddenly discovered what some unfortunate Pennsylvania residents in natural gas drilling areas already learned the hard way: daily life without a viable water source is downright difficult.

After the chemical leak of licorice-scented 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM) from Freedom Industries Inc. tainted their river water and left it suitable only for flushing toilets, our West Virginia neighbors were without use of their tap water for up to 10 days. A second chemical, a mixture of polyglycol ethers known as PPH, was only named much later, apparently because it is considered a "proprietary" chemical by the company.

unconscionable. And unfortunately, West Virginia citizens have discovered what their Pennsylvania counterparts already know: living without a clean water source is not only inconvenient, but also costly. And that potential cost is too often overlooked in this era of economy over the environment, where preservation and regulation are dirty words because "we need the jobs."

If there is just one lesson that should be learned from this West Virginia water debacle, it is that protecting precious, irreplaceable natural resources vital to our very lives is also of paramount economic importance.

Consider the economic losses to West Virginia workers as daycares, universities, schools, and restaurants were all shut down by the Kanawha Charleston Health Department when the water went bad. Any other water-dependent business would have no choice but to do the same. As residents sat at home losing their daily wages, other businesses incurred massive unexpected expenses. According to David Ramsey, CEO and President of the Charleston Area Medical Center Health System, direct costs related to the spill totaled $2 million to the health system, while another Charleston health provider estimated costs in the hundreds of thousands.

On January 10, President Obama declared the nine affected counties a disaster area, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Guard rolled in with tank trucks and three million bottles of water to the rescue--meaning taxpayers were footing the bill for Freedom Industries' poor business practices. 

The continued need for water and other necessities for struggling families hit hard by income loss are being filled by the combined efforts of churches, businesses, neighboring counties and states, and grass roots organizations. 

And Freedom Industries, who caused this mess? As lawsuits mounted, Freedom Industries quickly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 17 to avoid payouts--but they did say they were sorry for the spill.

Freedom Industries Inc. chose not to have its storage tanks inspected since 1991 because there was no requirement to do so, and then hid behind bankruptcy proceedings as quickly as it could when things went bad, leaving taxpayers and citizens stuck with the bill. Recently purchased by wealthy Pennsylvanian J. Clifford Forrest, owner of the Rosebud Mining Company, Freedom Industries Inc. represents yet another corporate example of privatizing the profits while socializing the losses, as taxpayers and good-hearted citizens pick up the tab for Freedom Industries' corporate negligence in West Virginia.  

As the corporate natural gas industry industrializes its way across Pennsylvania, tearing up and threatening our environment to chemical exposure as it goes, we should remember the example set by Freedom Industries Inc. We must look through the veil spun full of economic promises, inflated job numbers, and energy independence and realize the true cost of industrialization at the expense and risk of our environment. Only then will we understand who is apt to get stuck with the bill when something goes wrong.  

Many WV communities have water issues.  

petition demanding cleaner water for the Mountain State. 

A Worried Mother-To-Be Tells Her Story in

"West Virginia Girl, All Bottled Up"

Read her story here, which tells of the uncertainties caused by the chemical spill that has changed her life. Then follow her request to "do what YOU can to help protect our country's PRIORITIES and WATER SOURCES."