Former West Virginia Coal Miner: ‘These Chemicals Have Been Dumped Into the Water for Decades’

Former West Virginia Coal Miner: ‘These Chemicals Have Been Dumped Into the Water for Decades’

by Bob Cull

Joe Stanley was well prepared when Freedom Industries leaked 7,500 gallons of toxic 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM) into the Elk River in West Virginia nearly two weeks ago:  he'd stopped drinking the water decades ago.  As a former coal miner he knew the types of chemicals mining companies have been dumping into the water and ground for decades and was taking no chances.

Stanley, 64 worked for West Virginia’s Marrowbone Coal Mine from 1981 to 1996 where he was the union president.  Marrowbone is owned by Massey Energy, the same company that was responsible for the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion in 2010, in which 29 of 31 miners were killed.

He was fired when he demanded that the company look into the chemicals that were being used in the mine, saying that the miners were becoming ill, particularly electricians and pinners.

“I watched the coal industry poison our water for years. Now they’re telling us not to drink the water? We’ve been dumping this stuff into unlined ponds and into old mines for years,” Stanley says. “This MCHM was just one of the chemicals we were told was highly toxic but that we dumped into old mine shafts and slurry ponds, and it’s been seeping into the groundwater for years. As soon as we’re out of that mine it immediately fills with water. And where does it go from there? I don’t know, you’re guess is as good as mine.”

“I haven’t drank the water here in years, and I suggest you do the same,” he says. “Don’t drink the water. Just don’t do it.”

Stanley is not being paranoid, last year the EPA found 132 cases in which coal-fired power plants had contaminated rivers, streams and lakes, along with another 123 incidences of groundwater contamination according to an investigation by AP reporters Dina Cappiello and Seth Borenstein.

Of the 1,727 coal mines in the U.S., nearly three-quarters have gone five years without being inspected to insure that they are following rules to prevent pollution of the water.  The report also cites other frightening findings about the pollution created by coal.

The findings included in the report refer only to the mining industry itself and does not address pollution created by related industries such as Freedom Industries, the company behind this most recent disaster.

Even the governor, Earl Ray Tomblin seems to be in the dark when it comes to the effects of coal pollution in his state, telling reporters at a news conference Monday, “It’s your decision,” he said. “If you do not feel comfortable drinking or cooking with this water then use bottled water. I’m not going to say absolutely, 100 per cent that everything is safe. But what I can say is if you do not feel comfortable, don’t use it.”

It can be detrimental to your health to bring up the environment in West Virginia.  Stanley knows this well from firsthand experience.

“I’ve had threats, sure,” he said. “But I’ve got some friends and they look out for me.”

To demonstrate what the mindset in the state is like Joe displays a campaign sign for a popular Republican Senate candidate Pat McGeehan, which reads, "SAVE COAL, END THE EPA,” a sentiment which garners votes in West Virginia.

h/t:  Business Insider

Bob Cull