Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Op/Ed - April 17, 2010
One week ago this evening I returned from six physically and emotionally grueling days covering the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in Montcoal, W.Va. Since then, I keep thinking of the 29 brave souls whose time on Earth ended deep beneath it. I pray they didn't suffer. I think of the family and friends left to mourn them. I pray their suffering is somehow salved. I think of the kindness bestowed upon me and other journalists as the tragedy
unfolded around us. I pray karma rewards them.
In my career, I've covered unexplainable acts of God and unfathomable acts of man -- plane crashes, serial killings, tornadoes, police killings, suicides, the slayings of men, women and children. I have tried to shine light on the human condition.
The golf course, located near the intersection of Centerville Turnpike and Whittamore Road, was sculpted with fly ash from a Dominion Virginia Power coal-fired plant that is mixed with cement dust. Fly ash is a residue from the burning of coal for electricity.
The EPA inspection evaluated the environmental impact of the fly ash and determined that the golf course property does not qualify for placement on EPA’s national priority list of sites where hazardous contaminants could impact public health and/or the environment. Dominion Virginia Power will continue to monitor wells on the golf course.
EPA’s inspection showed that the fly ash used on the golf course contains concentrations of several metals which are above the levels found in soil in the surrounding area. However, the report indicates these metals are not migrating from the fly ash to residential drinking wells.
A copy of the site inspection report is available at the Chesapeake Main Library, 298 Cedar Road, Chesapeake, Va. EPA staff will be available to answer questions on May 6 and 7 (8:30 am to 6:00 p.m.) at the Centerville Baptist Church, 908 Centerville Turnpike South in Chesapeake. The report can also be viewed online at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/CurrentIssues/finalr-battlefield_golf_club_site/index.html
The Associated Press www.ap.org
MCT FORUM
By Homer Hickam
Los Angeles Times
(MCT)
Last week was a terrible one for the coal mining industry. The loss of nearly 30 miners in an explosion deep inside a huge West Virginia mine simply should not happen, not with all the regulations in place and all the required safety equipment and techniques, including modern methods of ventilation that avoid large concentrations of explosive methane. When I heard about the accident in the Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine, I was shocked. I never expected such a large loss of life would ever happen again in one of our coal mines.