A Coal Train Controversy Rumbles Through Seattle
It's been over a month now since a company called Freedom Industries spilled an as yet undetermined amount of MCHM, (recent estimates say 10,000 gallons) the mixture of chemicals used to "clean" coal during production, into the Elk River in West Virginia. Those who have followed the spill know that the company responsible has barely been heard from since a brief press conference, and later news the company had filed for bankruptcy, largely leaving the victims on their own. Little is known about the chemical, how much was spilled, and just how many spills have taken place. People have been told several different things about how safe, or dangerous the water is for consumption and other uses, as they show up in hospitals in the region. (Think Progress has a great summary of the history of the spill so far here.)
Since then, a coal preparation facility spilled an unknown quantity of coal slurry into a creek in Kanawha County, W.V. The responsible company's name? Patriot Coal. In that spill, slurry leaked is unknown, but a DEP spokesman characterized it as "significant."
Meanwhile, trains carrying various types of fuel derail, catch fire, and devastate towns causing explosions, evacuations, property loss, and death. (Just today a train carrying ethanol derailed in Jacksonville Florida, and cleanup the is ongoing.)