What will happen if chemicals were spilled in a river?
Last but not least, chemical spills can have major environmental impacts. Spilled oil and other chemicals can physically damage marine life with run-off contamination in the water. Spilt chemicals can also run-off into soil, causing severe ecological damage and making such areas inhabitable for flora and fauna.
How long did the WV water crisis last?
nine days
January 9, 2021 marked the seventh anniversary of the 2014 MCHM spill into the Elk River that left about 300,000 people without access to clean water for up to nine days. OVEC organizer Dustin White led the charge in setting up our Remembering the WV Water Crisis virtual event to mark the anniversary.
When was the water crisis in WV?
In 2014, a chemical spill near Charleston left more than 300,000 West Virginians without drinking water for a week after a storage tank at Freedom Industries leaked more than 10,000 gallons of toxic materials into the Elk River.
How does chemical waste affect water?
Anytime you dump or release chemical waste, it will have an effect. As it rains, those chemicals are washed into rivers, which feeds the waterfalls and then goes into the ocean. Improperly disposed chemicals pollute marine life and kills sea mammals, corals, and fish.
How are rivers affected by water pollution?
Dirty water containing chemicals is put back in the river. Water used for cooling is warmer than the river itself. Raising the temperature of the water lowers the level of dissolved oxygen and upsets the balance of life in the water. People are sometimes careless and throw rubbish directly into rivers.
Who was responsible for the Elk River chemical spill?
Freedom Industries, which owned storage tanks blamed in a January 2014 chemical spill, filed for bankruptcy later that month. The company’s facility on Barlow Street is seen on the banks of the Elk River in Charleston, W.Va.
What happened in Woburn Massachusetts?
In May of 1979 a major story broke in Woburn. Several barrels of chemicals had been found dumped near the Aberjona River. When state investigators tested Wells G and H, they found that they were contaminated with TCE (tetrachloroethylene — a suspected carcinogen) and other industrial byproducts.
How many people in the United States don’t have clean drinking water?
2 million Americans
Other research has shown that about 2 million Americans don’t have access to clean water. Taking that into account, our findings suggest that about 59 million people have tap water access from either their municipality or private wells or cisterns, but don’t drink it.
Can you drink West Virginia tap water?
Health officials say the tap water near Charleston, West Virginia, is all right to drink. Its licorice-like smell alerted residents to the contamination and led to a do-not-use order for 300,000 West Virginians, some of whom could not drink or bathe in their water for more than a week.
How do chemical spills affect rivers and lakes?
As it rains, those chemicals are washed into rivers, which feeds the waterfalls and then goes into the ocean. When a toxic waste harms one organism, it can end up destroying an entire food chain of aquatic life. Improperly disposed chemicals pollute marine life and kills sea mammals, corals, and fish.
What are the effects of chemical and waste?
Increased levels of toxic substances can cause genetic defects, disease, headaches, nausea and many more issues that can seriously impact human life.
Where did the 2014 Elk River chemical spill occur?
Counties (pictured) in West Virginia affected by the 2014 Elk River chemical spill. The Elk River chemical spill occurred on January 9, 2014 when crude 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) was released from a Freedom Industries facility into the Elk River, a tributary of the Kanawha River, in Charleston in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
Where did the chemical spill occur in West Virginia?
The chemical spill occurred upstream from the principal West Virginia American Water intake and treatment and distribution center. Following the spill, up to 300,000 residents within nine counties in the Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area were without access to potable water.
What is the chemical spill in the Kanawha River?
On Tuesday, January 14, the company revealed that the tank, which leaked about 7,500 gallons into the ground by the Elk River, had also contained a mixture of glycol ethers known as PPH, with a similar function as MCHM. The chemical spill was the third chemical accident to occur in the Kanawha River Valley within the last five years.
What is the Elk River?
The Elk River is a municipal water source which serves about 300,000 people in the Charleston area.