PETTUS, West Virginia, February 3, 2009 (ENS) – Fourteen people were arrested today at a Massey Energy mountaintop removal coal mine site for trespassing on company property while staging a protest of blasting they say will endanger communities on Coal River Mountain.

Five activists with Climate Ground Zero and pan-Appalachian Mountain Justice who locked themselves down to heavy machinery early this morning were arrested along with a videographer documenting the protest.

By afternoon, dozens of local residents, friends and supporters from throughout Appalachia converged at the gate of Massey Energy’s Beetree Surface Mine on Coal River Mountain. Eight more people were arrested in the afternoon action. All 14 were ticketed for tresspassing.

The protesters delivered a letter to mine company officials intended for Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. Signed by 14 West Virginia residents, the letter demands that Massey cease the mountaintop removal operation on Coal River Mountain.

Although Massey has begun work at the site, residents are advocating for a wind farm at the same location as a safer alternative for cleaner energy and long-term jobs.

Since the protesters were trespassing, they were rightfully cited, said Massey spokesman Jeff Gillenwater. He said the company has all the permits required to mine the site.

Blasting for part of the operation could begin at any time above underground mines and close to a coal waste sludge dam called the Brushy Fork impoundment that currently contains seven billion gallons and has a nine billion gallon capacity.

Protesters chained to a sign reading “Windmills Not Toxic Spills” (Photo by Chad Stevens)

“I fear for my friends and all the people living below this coal sludge dam,” said Gary Anderson, who lives on the mountain near the site. “Blasting beside the dam, over underground mines, could decimate the valley for miles.”

“The experts said that the Buffalo Creek sludge dam was safe, but it failed. They said that the TVA sludge dam was safe, but it failed. Massey is setting up an even greater catastrophe here,” said Anderson.

Anderson was referring to the failure of a retaining wall at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant December 22, 2008. The broken wall released about a billion cubic yards of coal ash that originally covered about 400 acres at the confluence of the Emory and Clinch Rivers. No injuries occurred, but about 40 area homes were affected. Response and recovery are continuing.

“Massey could flood the towns of Pettus, Whitesville and Sylvester with toxic coal sludge,” said protester Julia Bonds. “Blasting at a multi-billion-gallon sludge lake over underground mines could cause the sludge to burst through and kill thousands of people.”

In 1972, a sludge dam operated by Pittston Coal Company failed and killed 125 people in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia.

In 2000, a sludge dam operated by Massey Energy in Martin County, Kentucky, released some 300 million gallons of coal waste that broke through into underground mines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called it the worst environmental disaster in the Southeast.

These West Virginia residents have lost faith in their state government and taken their plea national.

“We can’t sit by while Massey jeopardizes the lives and homes of thousands of people,” said Vernon Haltom. “Governor [Joe] Manchin and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection have proven that they are unwilling to protect the citizens. What do they expect us to do? Will they wait until we’re in body bags to take this threat seriously?”

The protesters point to a 2008 report by the federal Office of Surface Mining that revealed serious deficiencies in the WVDEP’s regulation of coal waste dams.

In November, WVDEP approved a permit revision allowing Massey to begin the mountaintop removal operation at Coal River Mountain. Despite citizens’ objections, the state agency declined to permit public participation in its decision process.

“The governor and county legislators have failed to act, so we’re acting for them,” said protester Rory McIlmoil, one of those arrested. “They shouldn’t allow the wind potential on Coal River Mountain to be destroyed, and the nearby communities endangered, for only 17 years of coal.”

Anderson added, “We need to stop the madness and stop Massey from blowing up our beautiful mountain. We need to go with the better energy option, and that’s a wind farm, which is perfect for Coal River Mountain. We could have a green energy future for the country, starting right here.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, May 13, 2008 (ENS) ­ A chemical used to make non-stick coating for pots and pans, food wrappers and stain-resistant fabrics may harm the immune system, liver and thyroid and cause higher cholesterol in children, according to the initial findings of a study of 69,000 people who live near a DuPont manufacturing plant.

The health effects observed in the study population in West Virginia and Ohio are believed to have been caused by exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA, also known as C8, released from the DuPont plant in Washington, West Virginia.

PFOA is one of a class of perfluorinated chemicals used to make Teflon coating and other nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain-resistant fabrics.

A team from West Virginia University is leading the multi-year study of PFOA exposure. The study is funded by a portion of a $107.5 million settlement paid by DuPont to settle a 2005 lawsuit over releasing PFOA into the region’s drinking water supplies.

Drops of oil on a pan coated with
non-stick plastic made using
PFOA. (Photo by
Georgy Holden)

In a preliminary report, the West Virginia University team said last week that higher levels of PFOA in people are linked with lower levels of a protein that helps the body fight bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.

In earlier animal studies, PFOA exposure has been linked with death of immune cells and weakening of the body’s ability to protect itself from infection.

Higher PFOA levels in West Virginia residents are associated with higher levels of two enzymes that can indicate liver damage, and with lower levels of a liver protein that is an important part of the body’s defense against infection, the preliminary report finds.

Elevated PFOA levels in children are associated with high cholesterol levels, predisposing children to future weight problems and higher risk of heart disease.

Thyroid function was clearly affected in people exposed to PFOA, with the effect strongest at moderate levels of exposure, rather than the highest exposures, the researchers found.

“These findings may be preliminary, but they are very worrisome, because perfluorinated chemicals never break down,” said Olga Naidenko, PhD, senior scientist at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which is campaigning to eliminate PFOA in the environment.

“Every molecule that is produced today will be around forever, continually cycling throughout the environment, food chain and people,” said Naidenko.

There are no federal safety standards for perfluorinated chemicals in consumer products. DuPont and other manufacturers have pledged to phase out PFOA, but not until 2015.

In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that eight major companies reported “significant drops in the release of PFOA and related chemicals, putting industry on target to meet a 95 percent reduction goal in PFOA emissions and product content by 2010.” Further reductions are anticipated by 2015.

The eight companies are: Arkema, Asahi, Ciba, Clariant, Daikin, DuPont, 3M/Dyneon and Solvay Solexis.

In November 2007, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported results from their analysis of human blood levels of PFOA collected in 2003-2004 and found a 25 percent reduction from levels found in samples collected in 1999-2000.

Dupont says products made with PFOA are “safe for their intended uses.”

“Studies have shown very low levels of PFOA and other perfluorinated compounds in the environment and in the blood of the general population,” Dupont acknowledges on its website. “Questions about this, as well as customer interest in product alternatives, are leading DuPont to phase out the use and production of PFOA by 2015 or earlier, if possible, and to develop new products and processes that are more environmentally sustainable,” the company says.

Dupont points out that PFOA and Teflon are different – one is a processing aid, the other is a product brand. It is inaccurate to describe PFOA as an ingredient in cookware coated with Teflon, the company says. PFOA is a processing aid used to manufacture fluoropolymers, some of which are sold under the Teflon® brand.

The development of substitutes and alternates to PFOA is moving forward. To date, companies have submitted more than 50 chemical alternatives to the EPA for review.

In late 2006, Asahi introduced a new line of products that is PFOA free.

3M intends to introduce a PFOA substitute this year to be used in the manufacture of some of the products currently on the market.

3M Medical Director Larry Zobel, MD says, “In more than 25 years of medical surveillance we have observed no adverse health effects in our employees resulting from their exposure to … PFOA. This is very important since the level of exposure in the general population is much lower than that of production employees who worked directly with these materials.”

Nevertheless, some people do not want PFOA used to manufacture packaging for foods they wish to eat.

On Monday, the California State Senate approved legislation by San Leandro Democratic Senator Ellen Corbett to ban perfluorinated chemicals from food packaging.

“We’re one step closer to getting these toxic chemicals out of food packaging,” said Bill Walker, West Coast vice president of Environmental Working Group, which is sponsoring the legislation. “Alternatives are available now, so there’s no reason to wait another seven years.”

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