Saturday, February 1, 2014

Chemical spills and uranium mining

 

Comments:  Great letter and thanks for your service!

The Editorial Board | Posted: Friday, January 17, 2014 6:00 am 
            
To the editor:
I am a disabled veteran who has been exposed to many hazardous chemicals due to numerous unsafe situations within my lifetime and I felt compelled to write and state my opinion and beliefs on several catastrophes that have occurred recently.

I was very disturbed about the chemical spill in West Virginia in which the water supply was affected for more than 300,000 people.

The chemical spill that contaminated the water supply tipped in under the regulatory radar because according to The Associated Press, "the facility was barely scrutinized, flying largely under the radar of government regulators who viewed it as a low-risk operation."

Danville also had a water contamination issue last year. It seems regulators pick and choose facilities, which they deem low priority, and do not inspect them. As a result, 10 or 20 years later they will deem it an unsafe facility and environment and this could also be the same situation with uranium mining.

I was exposed to chemicals in the military that were thought of as safe. However, many years later it was discovered those chemicals were hazardous.

This is a cry of one person who learned through experience how dangerous contaminated, unsafe and un-inspected sites and chemicals can be causing permanent disabilities and death.

My concern is how many other unregulated and experimented trials have been conducted under the radar that we haven’t heard about until something drastic happens like the chemical spill at Freedom Industries.

I am very concerned about the long-term affects it will have on each and every one of us.

The EPA should institute stronger regulations to prevent events like this from taking place again.

These are the reasons I am opposed to uranium mining and the long-term effects it can cause.

RAYMOND B. ROBERTSON
Danville

http://www.godanriver.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/chemical-spills-and-uranium-mining/article_d352fdba-7f0d-11e3-813b-0019bb30f31a.html


Comments:  More about the chemical spill in W VA, the state lets the mining company get away with murder and ruining our water.....plus agent Orange, our govt turn their head too!

www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/Herbicide/index.htm   Cached
Portal to where VA compensation and pension benefits programs are described; to include rates of payments and how to apply for VA benefits.

www.publichealth.va.gov/.../agentorange/.../vietnam.asp   Cached
For the purposes of VA compensation benefits, Veterans who served anywhere in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 are presumed to have been exposed to ...
 
www.examiner.com/article/vietnam-vets...the-agent-orange-war   Cached
A veteran friend has terminal cancer that is believed to have been caused by his being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He has been combatting the effect fro
 
 

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/west-virginia-spill...   Cached
The West Virginia chemical spill that left 300,000 residents without tap water for a week contained a second, previously unreported chemical, federal and ...
 
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/11/west-virginia-chemical...   Cached
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A handful of people have been hospitalized and several hundred thousand remain without water after a chemical leaked from a
 
www.reuters.com/.../2014/01/20/us-usa-westvirginia-spill...   Cached
[Jan 20, 2014] (Reuters) - West Virginia's governor on Monday proposed legislation to regulate above-ground storage tanks, a move that comes after a spill of coal
 
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/15/chemical-spill-photos...   Cached
Look How Gross The Water Is After The Chemical Spill In West Virginia
 
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/joe-manchin-west...   Cached
Congress Shrugs In Response To West Virginia Chemical Spill, But Joe Manchin Has A Plan
 
www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/16/west-virginia...   Cached
West Virginia Chemical Spill Company Slapped With Violations Freedom Industries had a slew of environmental infractions at another storage site, inspectors say