Bravo to you, Sarah, for bringing this to the forefront. Very disconcerting that companies like Bayer (or any company) would continue doing business like this today and that our government doesn’t do more to prevent it.

I had no idea what I was in for when I moved to this area in 1995 from the North Central Part of the state. In the first 9 months of living in the Saint Albans area, I had 4 shelter in place emergencies. Those were just the ones we were told about.

I also became close to a family who had members working not just here, but about 4 other chemical plants in the area. We had a secret code, that if they called and said their “tuna sandwich was bad that day for lunch,” or they “thought it was going bad,” we knew there was an undisclosed leak. The employees all have secret messages to warn family, because otherwise they would be immediately fired by their employers.

How sad is that?

So after renting in the Saint Albans area for a year, we moved further out to the Hurricane area, where Sarah lives now, thinking it would be safer. While we did have fewer shelter in place emergencies out there, it was still risky. As she said, she felt this blast. I can only imagine what it felt like closer in. Also, you still have the worries of all the chemical trucks potentially wrecking on the Interstate nearby too.

It was because of these concerns, that we chose not to permanently put down roots in this area. My husband at the time, had a good job. We had good friends. But we worried about our children. The Kanawha Valley has a very high cancer rate. I might say (as a former nurse) it’s a “cluster” area. I didn’t want to expose my children to this.

We moved in 1999, and as many jobs as these plants provide, I wonder how many more, like me, are motivated by the conditions to move? They don’t talk about that. But I am one. It’s not worth a job or an economy, especially in light of the inferior safety conditions, to lose one child in my view.

And I remember very well what happened in 1984 with this same chemical, MIC. Here is a wikipedia description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

You are doing a brave thing, commenting on this Sarah. Not a lot of locals want to stand up, for fear of family members losing jobs and such. But again, the bigger picture needs to be exposed here.

How scary! Sounds to me like Bayer is conducting a LWH (Lawsuit Waiting to Happen). Too bad - if they just engaged with the community, they could probably save face with everyone.

Tina

Moutain Laurel, maybe a “Marginalize THIS” shirt, too? (That kind of ticked me off.)