Many Remain Wary Of West Virginia Water As Smell Lingers

Map of Charleston and vicinity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CHARLESTON, WV—The smell lingers—the slightly sweet, slightly bitter odor of a chemical that contaminated the water supply of West Virginia’s capital more than a week ago. It creeps out of faucets and shower heads. It wafts from the Elk River, the site of the spill. Sometimes it hangs in the cold nighttime air.

For several days, a majority of Charleston-area residents have been told their water is safe to drink, that the concentration of a chemical used to wash coal is so low that it won’t be harmful. Restaurants have reopened—using tap water to wash dishes and produce, clean out their soda fountains and make ice.

But as long as people can still smell it, they’re wary—and given the lack of knowledge about the chemical known as MCHM, some experts say their caution is justified.

“I would certainly be waiting until I couldn’t smell it anymore, certainly to be drinking it,” said Richard Denison, a scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund who has followed the spill closely. “I don’t blame people at all for raising questions and wondering whether they can trust what’s being told to them.”

Read more: http://www.ydr.com/nation-world/ci_24940594/many-remain-wary-w-va-water-smell-lingers

Study: Poor Health Habits Prevalent In Northeast Pennsylvania

Counties constituting Northeastern Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A project aimed at establishing a benchmark of regional residents’ health reinforced something already known — Northeastern Pennsylvania residents, generally speaking, are not very healthy.

The study, conducted by the Scranton-based Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, was done so the effects of the Marcellus Shale industry on the region’s health can be gauged in the future.

“We wanted to create a baseline on the health of the community to use as a benchmark against future studies to see what effects, if any, and to what extent the industry will have had on the region’s health,” said Bob Durkin, president of the Cancer Institute.

Dr. Samuel Lesko, principal investigator for the survey, said a variety of issues related to “fracking” and other processes used to produce natural gas have contributed to community concerns about potential adverse health outcomes.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/405891/Study:-Poor-health-habits-prevalent-in-region

Homemade Ice Cream Social, Saturday, August 27 – 3 pm to 6 pm

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Homemade Ice Cream Social

(Flavors to come try ~ Peach, Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla)

at

Vinemont Community Lutheran Church

1278 Fritztown Road, Reinholds 

Saturday, August 27

3 to 6 pm

Proceeds to benefit

Horn of Africa 

Drought Relief In Somalia

Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and other countries in the Horn of Africa and the East Africa region are experiencing the worst drought in 60 years. Two years of sporadic rain – and the driest year since 1951 – have resulted in severely reduced access to drinking water and major crop and livestock loss. The UN estimates that 11.6 million people are at risk, including 2.2 million malnourished children. 500,000 of these children face imminent life-threatening conditions. In hard hit areas, like South Central Somalia, masses of people are leaving their homes in order to meet their basic need of food and water.

Image via Wikipedia