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On Jan. 9, 2014 people in and around Charleston, W.Va began showing up at hospitals. Suffering nausea, eye infections and vomiting. It was later discovered that around 10,000 gallons of toxic chemicals had leaked into the Elk River upstream from a water treatment plant that serves 300,000 people.
It appears that one landowner's deteriorated constructs and /
or failed lateral support led to the release of chemicals into the landowner of
the Elk River in West Virginia. These released chemicals traversed downstream
and into the water inlets of an adjacent landowner of American Water Works.
American Water Works provides the public water to the above mentioned 300,000
West Virginia residents in the Charleston West Virginia area. Bottled water is
now the norm.
Various news reports have covered said catastrophe. West Virginia Puzzled, Outraged Over Chemical Leak. A News Report mentions the lack of Sunday Morning News Coverage:. Ana Marie Cox Briefly Forces A Sunday Chat Show To Cover West Virginia. One News Reports questions the Geopolitical Environment that would allow such a catastrophe to occur in the first place. Is West Virginia a Cult? Another news article concerns regulations. How Industrial Chemical Regulation Failed West Virginia. A news article covers Utility Failures. Scary Utility Lessons From the West Virginia Chemical Spill. A former West Virginia Governor and Current United States Senator mentions his lack of faith in Experts in regard to said WV crisis: West Virginia Sen. Rockefeller Won't OK Charleston Water a Month After Spill. One article reports on a request for long term studies. West Virginia Asks Feds To Study Possible Health Effects Of Chemical Spill An Article concerns Site Teardown. West Virginia Senator Wants Leaking Chemical Storage Site Torn Down.
Senators and other elected Officials desire a most logical and sensible course of action. The Mitigation of the causal area of the Charleston Event. The Charleston Event involves an aged 50 year plus chemical site which consists of storage tanks and chemically enhanced topographical earthen soil and lateral support. All of which are close Urban proximity variables. The definition of Mitigation as found on the FEMA website: Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Mitigation is taking action now - before the next disaster - to reduce human and financial consequences later (analyzing risk, reducing risk, insuring against risk).
Effective mitigation requires that we
all
understand local risks, address the hard choices and invest in long-term community well-being. Without mitigation actions we jeopardize our safety, financial security and self-reliance".
The
Mitigation of Cause Factors
regarding the 2014 Charleston, West Virginia Event are easily understood:
Remedy the Cause.
Learn from It. Place
Safeguards to make sure Such an Event Does Not occur Again.
However, Remediation of the 2014 Charleston Effects possess unheard of Parameters. Citizens have been given ambiguous directives and recommendations from Politicians and Experts over one of the most fundamental needs, or human rights. Clean Water. The Most Vulnerable of Society. Pregnant Women, Infants, Young Children and those with weak Auto-Immune Deficiencies are advised not to come in contact with public drinking water. A silent consensus of fend for yourselves is tenable.
Thus, a
core aspect of humanity's needs. Security of Person and Family is under
extraordinary duress. However; this case's sheer scope brings into question the ability of Charleston, West
Virginia's communities to weather the storm and accept a re-definition of what
is acceptable
or have the sheer will to even stay.
Next: A West Virginia Comparison
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